The Blues and Derby County remain locked at 0-0 at half-time at Portman Road.
Town boss Kieran McKenna made two changed from the team which was beaten 1-0 by Lincoln last Saturday.
Tyreece John-Jules replaced Freddie Ladapo, who was on the bench, as the lone central striker with Kayden Jackson in for Conor Chaplin, who was also a sub, as the left-sided number 10 with Marcus Harness to his right.
Former Derby skipper Richard Keogh was among the subs, along with youngster Cameron Humphreys.
The Rams made one change to the team which won 3-0 at Accrington last week with Korey Smith replacing the injured Jason Knight.
Former Blues David McGoldrick, Conor Hourihane, Richard Stearman and Scott Loach were all on the bench.
Town were wearing their blackout third kit for the first time, while Derby were in their maroon third strip.
The Rams started the stronger with the game starting at a frenetic pace and created an opportunity in the opening minute, Jordan Sibley cutting back from the right to Eiran Cashin, who scuffed the ball into his own hand and the ball was cleared.
After finding themselves on the back foot in the opening couple of minutes, the Blues began to find their feet and in the sixth minute they went close to a goal.
A corner on the right was played to Lee Evans on the corner of the box from where he clipped the ball into the six-yard box towards Wes Burns, who just failed to get his head to it and Rams keeper Joe Wildsmith indecisively bundled the ball behind.
Town continued to dominate and win corners and from a ninth-minute flag-kick John-Jules ought to have put the Blues in front when the on-loan Arsenal man was allowed a free header, however, the ball scuffed off his head and well wide. John-Jules appeared to claim he’d been pulled back but instead referee Lee Swabey awarded a corner, which it clearly wasn’t.
Blues skipper Sam Morsy was shown his fifth League One yellow card of the season a minute later for body-checking Lewis Dobbin, meaning the midfielder will miss the trip to his former club Port Vale on Tuesday.
John-Jules appealed for a penalty in the 15th minute when he cut inside Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the left and was brought down, however, video evidence showed the Derby wideman had got the merest of touches to the ball, vindicating referee Swabey’s decision.
In the 21st minute, Harness beat Cashin a third of the way into the Derby half but overhit his pass through for Jackson to chase. Two minutes later, James Chester joined Morsy in the book for a foul on John-Jules on halfway.
With the game still being played at a high tempo, Evans sent Burns away on the right in the 25th minute, the wing-back crossed low and Cashin’s mishit clearance flashed across the face of his own goal and wide.
Derby had been little real threat but on 29 Luke Woolfenden and Leif Davis both failed to win tackles, however, Mendez-Laing’s low cross from the right was turned behind by one-time Rams loanee George Edmundson.
After a short spell with the Rams in the ascendency, the Blues got back on top. In the 37th minute, Burns crossed from the right, Davis headed back across goal from the far post and the ball was turned behind for a corner. Following the flag-kick, a Morsy shot was deflected up into the air and behind for yet another corner.
Evans hit a 25-yard free-kick into the Derby wall in the 42nd minute, then in the aftermath Harness’s low cross was cut out.
In the final scheduled minute of the half, Tom Barkhuizen played himself into trouble on the byline on the Town right and presented Burns with a shooting chance but fortunately for the former Preston man one of his teammates blocked.
Evans shot well over from distance and the Blues won their eighth corner of the half before referee Swabey ended the period.
Town had been the side on top for all bar a few short spells but without really creating too an out and out chance - Evans’s early cross towards Burns was the nearest the Blues had come to a goal - with a few too many passes in the final third having gone astray or cut out.
Derby had presented the occasional threat on the counter-attack but otherwise had been happy to frustrate Town, looking to break up the play and slow the game down where they were able.
Town: Walton, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Burns, Evans, Morsy (c), Davis, John-Jules, Harness, Jackson. Subs: Hladky, Keogh, Ball, Humphreys, Edwards, Chaplin, Ladapo.
Derby: Wildsmith, Chester, Cashin, Barkhuizen, Bird, Mendez-Laing, Smith, Sibley, Dobbin, Osula, Davies (c). Subs: Loach, Forsyth, McGoldrick, Roberts, Thompson, Stearman, Hourihane. Referee: Lee Swabey (Devon).