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Sears, Skuse and Ward Start at Sunderland - Ipswich Town News

Freddie Sears, Cole Skuse and Grant Ward return to the Town line-up for this afternoon’s game against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The Blues look set to start in their usual 4-2-3-1 system with Sears - who scored his first goal of the season for the U23s on Monday - in for Bersant Celina, who drops to the bench, and Ward taking the place of David McGoldrick, who didn’t travel due to the knock he suffered against Wolves last week.

Cole Skuse returns in the centre of midfield alongside Callum Connolly for Stephen Gleeson, who drops to the bench alongside new signing Mustapha Carayol.

Sunderland make five changes from the team which lost 3-1 at Birmingham on Tuesday with all three deadline day signings, keeper Lee Camp, midfielder Ovie Ejaria and striker Ashley Fletcher, starting. Veteran defender John O’Shea returns after illness, while Billy Jones is also back in the side.

Sunderland: Camp, Jones, O’Shea (c), Browning, Cattermole, Robson, Oviedo, Matthews, Ejaria, Fletcher, Asoro. Subs: Ruiter, Maja, Honeyman, McGeady, Gooch, Love, LuaLua.

Town: Bialkowski, Spence, Carter-Vickers, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Skuse, Connolly, Sears, Waghorn, Ward, Garner. Subs: M Crowe, Iorfa, Celina, Webster, Hyam, Gleeson, Carayol. Referee: Darren England (South Yorkshire).

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