x

Blues Host West Ham in Only Home Friendly - Ipswich Town News

Town face West Ham United in their only home friendly of pre-season at Portman Road this afternoon (KO 2pm).

"Brilliant, a really good game, a really tough game,” manager Paul Lambert said looking ahead to the match following Saturday’s friendly at Spurs.

"The big thing about Premier League players is the physicality of them, the speed of them, the speed of the ball, it moves really, really quickly.

"But what a great game, David [Moyes] will come down and a couple of guys I know there who it will be nice to see again. We’re looking forward to it, it’s a really good game.”

Lambert says his starting XI for the beginning of the season proper will become clearer after the match.

"After the West Ham one, we’ll start to realise what’s going to happen,” he added. "But I’m really happy with the guys considering they had five months of not playing.”

That suggests it will be another mix and match side against the Hammers with the starters perhaps getting 60 minutes after two different XIs were fielded in each half at Tottenham.

James Norwood, who has been continuing his rehabilitation programme following his groin operation in February, and James Wilson (calf) were due to train yesterday and may play some part. Emyr Huws travelled to Tottenham but wasn’t involved, however, the Welshman may be back against the East Londoners.

Oli Hawkins seems less likely to be involved as he’s a little way behind on his pre-season preparations having been training on his own before joining the Blues a week ago.

West Ham are splitting their squad in half as they have another friendly at Wycombe Wanderers this afternoon.

Therefore, ex-Blues left-back Aaron Cresswell and former loanee Mark Noble could miss out on a return to Portman Road.

Town striker Freddie Sears will be up against his old club, while Norwood, Flynn Downes and kitman James Pullen are all West Ham supporters.

With the game behind closed doors, the Blues have arranged streamed five-camera coverage with BBC Radio Suffolk’s Brenner Woolley commentating.

The broadcast, which starts at 1.50pm ahead of the 2pm start, is available here for £10.

The live stream is not available in Sweden, Norway, Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras as the match is being shown live on TV in those countries.

Town have one more friendly on Saturday against lower league opposition before the season proper gets under way with the Carabao Cup tie against Bristol Rovers at Portman Road in Saturday 5th September.

What to read next:

Youngster Nkansa-Dwamena Off to US
Blues U21s right-back Nick Nkansa-Dwamena is to start a college football scholarship at the University of Tulsa this summer.
New Robson Play at Eastern Angles
Eastern Angles is staging a reading of a new play, Bobby Robson Saved My Life, as part of its Play, Pizza & Pints platform on Wednesday 29th May at the Sir John Mills Theatre.
Ashton: Sheeran a Really Special Man
Town CEO Mark Ashton says club sponsor Ed Sheeran is a “really special man”, who “passionately cares about his local football club”.
Austria Trip and Fortuna at Portman Road in Pre-Season
Town will face sister club Fortuna Düsseldorf in a pre-season friendly on Saturday 27th July (KO 3pm) and as last year will hold a training camp in Austria ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Ashton: Recruitment Work Already Under Way
Town CEO Mark Ashton says he and manager Kieran McKenna have already begun work on recruiting for the Blues’ return to the Premier League.
Ashton: Over the Next Few Weeks Portman Road is Going to Be a Building Site
Town CEO Mark Ashton has revealed that around 750 season ticket holders will have to relocate their seats this summer due to the changes Portman Road will undergo ahead of the Blues return to the Premier League after 22 years away with safe standing, new camera positions, a new media area, a gantry, floodlights and a new Sky studio among the additions.
CEO Ashton Makes Good on Town Tattoo Promise
Town CEO Mark Ashton has made good on his promise to have the Town Suffolk Punch tattooed on his wrist should the Blues win promotion to the Premier League.
Town Trio Nominated For PFA Fans' Award
Town trio Sam Morsy, Leif Davis and Omari Hutchinson have been nominated for the PFA Championship Fans’ Player of the Year award.
Premier League Clubs to Vote on Scrapping VAR
Premier League clubs are set to vote on scrapping VAR this summer.
Life's a Pitch TV - Episode 42 - End-of-Season Awards
The inaugural Life’s a Pitch TV End-of-Season Awards, filmed in front of a live audience on Monday at Venue 16, is now available on YouTube and audio podcast platforms.