Keanan Bennetts gave the Blues an early lead but Joe Powell hit back for Burton Albion to leave the scoreline 1-1 at half-time at Portman Road.
Town boss Paul Lambert made three changes with Oli Hawkins, Emyr Huws and Bennetts coming into the team for Jack Lankester, Armando Dobra and Jon Nolan.
Nolan suffered an injury in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth and missed out, while Lankester and Dobra dropped to the bench.
Huws joined Andre Dozzell in the deeper midfield roles with Alan Judge ahead of them and Kayden Jackson on the right and Bennetts on the left with Hawkins the central striker.
Burton made two changes from the team which drew 1-1 away against the MK Dons on Saturday with John-Joe O'Toole in for the suspended Stephen Quinn and Niall Ennis replacing Ciaran Gilligan, who was among the subs.
As on Saturday, 2,000 Blues fans were at Portman Road as they watched their side aim to end a run of three winless home games.
Town got off to the perfect start in the fourth minute when Hawkins won a long ball forward and nodded it to Jackson, who headed on to Bennetts, who took it on into the area before hitting a low shot across Brewers’ keeper Kieran O’Hara and into the net for his first goal in senior football.
It was Town’s first goal against 11 men for more than five games and the first time they had scored first in a fixture since the home win against Crewe, 10 matches ago.
The Blues went close again on eight when Dozzell tricked his way past a defender just outside the area and played a ball into Hawkins, who laid it to Jackson and the former Accrington man hit a shot from the right towards O’Hara’s near post which the keeper did very well to bat behind for the first of two corners.
Following the second flag-kick, the ball eventually reached Bennetts, who struck a curling 25-yarder which only just arced past the keeper’s left post.
The Blues had managed more penalty area action in the opening 10 minutes than they had in the entire 90 against Portsmouth with the goal having given them a significant boost of confidence.
But that didn’t last and Burton started to see more of the ball and in the 22nd minute they levelled with their first serious chance.
After a Mark McGuinness cross-field pass had been cut out, Colin Daniel found space on the left and sent over a low cross which Powell swept into the net through a crowd of players from 10 yards.
Having conceded, Town reverted to the plodding, ponderous passing at the back which has characterised so many of their recent performances.
However, as the game passed the half-hour mark the Blues began to play more of the game further forward and with greater tempo with McGuinness and Luke Woolfenden both taking the ball forward from deep and with the on-loan Arsenal man also pulling off a couple of deft turns.
On 31 Huws battled his way into the box on the left but his stabbed shot failed to test O’Hara who claimed comfortably.
In the 40th minute Woolfenden tried to find Judge with a ball over the top as the Irishman broke into the box and Burton defender Sam Hughes headed down to Bennetts, who twisted and turned just inside the area before hitting a shot which flew not too far wide, despite having undergone treatment for what looked like a groin problem a couple of minutes earlier.
Town were getting back on top but not yet looking as dangerous or playing with the same intensity as they had in the opening 10 minutes.
Referee Darren Bond’s half-time whistle was greeted by muted boos followed by scattered applause by the 2,000 season ticket holders.
The Blues had started like a house on fire by their own recent standards and got their reward when Bennetts netted his goal, although O’Hara may feel he ought to have got down to his low shot more quickly.
However, after the opening 10 minutes Town lost their impetus and conceded another poor goal with Burton carving their way through in a manner similar to Pompey at the weekend.
From there, the Blues returned to their familiar laborious and unproductive passing at the back until the latter stages when they began to show a bit more attacking intent but without finding another opening.
Dobra warmed up on his own during half-time and could well replace Bennetts, who looked to be struggling with his groin injury.
Town: Cornell, Chambers, Woolfenden, McGuinness, Ward, Dozzell, Huws, Judge, Bennetts, Jackson, Hawkins. Subs: Holy, Nsiala, Kenlock, McGavin, Dobra, Lankester, Drinan.
Burton: O’Hara, Brayford, Daniel, Edwards, Bostwick, Powell, Akins, Vernam, O’Toole, Hughes, Ennis. Subs: Garratt, Wallace, Lawless, Fox, Vassilev, Gallacher, Gilligan. Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire).