Town host Oxford United on Boxing Day with Blues boss Kieran McKenna believing the U’s are one of the top teams in League One, despite sitting in 15th ahead of their trip to a sell-out Portman Road.
The U’s visit Town on an undefeated run of 10 matches in all competitions, four wins and six draws, having finished eighth last season after making the play-offs in each of the previous two campaigns.
They have been better away from home than at the Kassam Stadium, having picked up 14 of their 26 points on the road, three wins, five draws and three defeats.
Last week, they maintained that form by drawing 0-0 away against third-placed Sheffield Wednesday.
"I've got no doubt that they are one of the better teams in the league,” McKenna said. "For sure, I think points-wise in the early part of the season they won't have been happy, but when you look at the underlying numbers and statistics behind the team it often tells a more full part of the story and that's certainly the case for Oxford.
"They've performed pretty well all season and from a statistical point of view they're up there as one of the top teams in the division, and when you have that sort of case you know a team are set to climb and do better in the second half of the season.
"I imagine that will be the case with Oxford, but our focus is on ourselves and we have to halt that bit of momentum that they have and make sure we deliver a performance and go and try and get a result and get the three points for ourselves.
"Of course, Oxford will be fighting for the three points as well, so we know we're in for a really good match.”
Aside from the top three - Plymouth, the Blues and Wednesday - the rest of the division is very tight with only 10 points separating Barnsley in fourth and Oxford and Fleetwood in 15th and 16th, with teams in the lower half having a good chance of pushing themselves into play-off contention in the second half of the campaign.
"There certainly is and I'm sure they will see themselves in that category,” McKenna said. "I thought their performance last weekend against Sheffield Wednesday probably typified that.
"I thought they were the better team, probably. They certainly had the chances to win the game and showed that there's not such a big gap in the teams at the moment.
"There are so many teams who are competitive and are fighting who have good players, as Oxford do and they have a good manager [Karl Robinson] as well.
"We're under no illusions because of their position in the table that they're not one of the better teams in this division, and we'll be ready for that.
"But most importantly we need to be ready ourselves and make sure that we do as we always do, prepare as well as we can, mentally be ready for the game and we do everything we can to deliver a performance.”
Oxford’s regular approach is to play possession-based, positive football, something perhaps unusual for sides visiting Portman Road this season.
"In some ways it is,” McKenna reflected. "They are certainly a very positive team and they'll try and implement that in most games.
"Of course, there have been other teams who are in that style most weeks and then can look a little bit different against us.
"I'd expect them to come on the front foot, having done so well against Sheffield Wednesday last week with that sort of approach and try and bring the game to us. And, of course, we'll do the same, so hopefully that sets us up for an exciting game.”
Has the team trained differently in the expectation that Oxford might take a more front-foot approach?
"Not particularly. Of course, the type of game might be a little bit more open, but we look to implement what we look to implement,” McKenna continued.
"I think we tend to dominate and have been the dominant team in nearly all of our games this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the other team are trying to not have the ball or be reactive or be camped in their half.
"And whether people try and accentuate that after the game, trust me, it's very often not the case, because if you look at all of our games closely almost every team tries to press us from goal-kicks and almost every team tries to press us high whenever Christian Walton has the ball.
"And so far this season we've been very good at breaking that pressure and gaining territory and keeping the game in the opposition's half.
"So that's how the game has often panned out. Sometimes that's the opposition's strategy, but not always and each game has its own life and we'll see how it turns out on Boxing Day.
"Oxford are a positive and front-foot team and we're the same, so I think both teams will be fighting for the ball and fighting for domination and territory and chances and, most importantly, goals in the game.”
Town will be backed by a crowd in excess of 28,000, probably the highest home gate of the season - with only 400 travelling from Oxford - and very likely more than Portman Road’s previous biggest Boxing Day attendance, the 28,476 which watched the 2-0 victory over Arsenal in 1975.
The Blues will be looking to return to the top of the division having dropped two points behind Plymouth following last week’s 1-0 defeat at Wycombe, with Argyle in action at Cheltenham on Boxing Day, while the Owls in third, a further two points behind the Blues, visit Fleetwood.
McKenna is hoping to have two of his first-choice defenders, Janoi Donacien and Luke Woolfenden, available having missed the trip to Adams Park with a rolled ankle and an adductor strain respectively.
Those two will start at the back with Cameron Burgess if they’re ready with Kane Vincent-Young and George Edmundson otherwise taking their roles. Wes Burns and Leif Davis will be in the wide positions with Christian Walton in goal.
In central midfield, McKenna will have to decide whether Lee Evans is ready to return alongside skipper Sam Morsy or whether to stick with youngster Cameron Burgess.
Conor Chaplin is likely to continue as one of the number 10s with Sone Aluko perhaps the other. McKenna said at his Thursday press conference that Marcus Harness is ready to return but the former Portsmouth man seems likely to be among the subs.
Freddie Ladapo would appear the probable candidate to start as the central striker with Kayden Jackson the other contender.
Oxford manager Robinson says his squad will make the trip to Suffolk the evening before the match to allow the players and staff to spend part of the day at home.
"We will travel on Christmas night but we will let people spend time with their families in the day and then depart later in the afternoon,” he told iFollow Oxford.
"It’s a strange one staying in hotels on Christmas Day. There is usually a skeleton staff and the hotels can be soulless, but it’s all we have ever known!
"It’s different and people often say ‘That must be hard’ but from our point of view most of us have only ever known doing this so it won’t make any difference. Bank Holidays don’t usually get in the way for us. It’s great actually with no traffic on the road! We will prepare properly and we will be ready on Boxing Day.
Robinson expects the Blues to win automatic promotion back to the Championship come the end of the season.
"It's going to be hard at Portman Road,” he added. "There will may be a bit of a hostile atmosphere because of our performances there in recent years but Ipswich are a really good team with really good players.
"I know some of those players personally and they are good people too. People talk about the resources they have available and how they are a sleeping giant, but you also have to put a team together and they are certainly performing very well this year.
"I’d be very surprised if they aren’t in the top two at the end of the season. They are the best team I’ve seen - them and Sheffield Wednesday maybe.
"We will have played those teams back to back, then Charlton with their new manager and Exeter at home so we have some difficult games over Christmas.
"But we are playing well ourselves, we have players back from injury and like I said, we will be ready.”
Robinson has confirmed that midfielder Cameron Brannagan will be fit, despite having limped off after an hour during the Sheffield Wednesday draw after a challenge with former Blues loanee Tyreeq Bakinson.
Historically, the Blues have had the better of the U’s, winning eight (six in the league) of the games between the teams, drawing 10 (10) and losing six (six).
Four of the last six games between the teams have ended goalless and five of the last six have been draws.
Town’s last win against the U’s was back in February 1999 when goals from Matt Holland and Mark Venus, from the penalty spot saw George Burley’s Kieron Dyer-inspired side to a 2-1 win at Portman Road.
The teams last met at the Kassam Stadium in March when Oxford defender Luke McNally scored an equaliser five minutes into injury time to deny Town victory as the Blues and U’s drew 1-1.
Town looked to have had the game won via Bersant Celina’s 70th minute opener but deep in injury time McNally headed home from a corner to deny the Blues two vital points.
In November last year, the sides drew 0-0 at Portman Road, the Blues having come closest to scoring in the first half when Macauley Bonne and later Celina hit the same post.
Town wing-back Burns spent time on loan at Oxford during the 2014/15 season, making six starts and three sub appearances, scoring once.
Blues CEO Mark Ashton previously held the same position at Oxford, while chairman Mike O'Leary was a director at the Kassam Stadium.
Oxford's director of performance is former Town keeper Chris Neville, who came through the Blues’ youth set-up and made one senior appearance in the 1989/90 season - a 3-1 win at West Brom - before a knee injury forced him to retire.
Boxing Day’s referee is Will Finnie from Luton, who has shown 56 yellow cards and one red in 17 games so far this season.
Finnie’s most recent Town match was the 3-0 win at Shrewsbury in August in which he yellow-carded Morsy and one Shrews player.
Before that he was the man in the middle for the 2-2 home draw with Wigan in April in which he booked Woolfenden, Morsy, Burns, Bakinson and two Latics.
Prior to that, he was in charge of the 2-1 home victory over the Shrews in October last year in which he cautioned Burgess, Edmundson, Scott Fraser and one of the visitors.
Finnie’s only other Town match was the the 3-0 Carabao Cup victory over Bristol Rovers at Portman Road on the opening day of 2021/22 season in which he booked Woolfenden, Andre Dozzell and one Pirate.
Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Keogh, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Davis, Leigh, Morsy, Evans, Humphreys, Edwards, Chaplin, Harness, Aluko, Ladapo, Jackson, Ahadme.