Midfielder Martin Brittain looks set to make only his second Town appearance when the Blues travel to Chester City for Saturday's third round FA Cup tie. The former Newcastle United man has returned from his loan spell at Yeovil very much in manager Jim Magilton's plans.

Magilton says he is not going to make wholesale changes as the Blues seek only their second FA Cup victory over league opposition this century.

Town are likely to stick with the backline of Alex Bruce, Jason De Vos, Richard Naylor and Dan Harding which, along with keeper Lewis Price, kept a clean sheet against Birmingham on Monday.

Central defender Ian Miller has returned from his loan spell at Boston but is cup-tied from his time with Bury Town early in the season.

The Blues have a concern over Owen Garvan, who has a hip problem, and may not be fit enough to continue in central midfield alongside Sylvain Legwinski. Gavin Williams is again likely to be rested after suffering with a sore groin over the Christmas period.

Gary Roberts, a one-time Chester trialist, is likely to be on the left with Brittain, whose only previous Town game was as a sub at Peterborough in the Carling Cup, making his first start on the right and Matt Richards dropping to the bench.

Richards would probably deputise for Garvan if the 18-year-old fails to make it, Simon Walton having returned to Charlton after the completion of his loan spell.

Town have not included Darren Currie in the squad, Magilton feeling that the midfielder might not be in the correct frame of mind with the Blues and Coventry negotiating his permanent transfer. The Sky Blues may also want to play Currie in future rounds of the competition.

Up front, Alan Lee is likely to be partnered by Billy Clarke with Danny Haynes coming off the bench. Jon Macken has returned to Crystal Palace with his loan also over.

Magilton says he wants an improvement on Town's dreadful 21st Century FA Cup performance: “We will go to Chester with all guns blazing. Our FA Cup record in recent years has hardly been glorious and it's time to change that. I expect us to win the game.”

The Town manager wants the Blues to continue where they left off on New Year's Day against the Championship leaders: “We had a good win over Birmingham on Monday and we want another win at Chester. Winning is a good habit and it helps to breed confidence.”

Chester were reinstated into the FA Cup having been defeated by Bury in round two after a replay. The Shakers were subsequently excluded from the competition for fielding an ineligible player.

The two clubs have met only once before, also in the FA Cup, back in 1980. The Blues won the fifth round home tie 2-1 with George Burley and John Wark scoring the goals, while Ian Rush was in the Chester line-up.

Manager Mark Wright has an injury doubt over defender Ashley Westwood, who has a hamstring problem, while loanee Ryan Semple has returned to Lincoln.

Frontman Drewe Broughton, a former Norwich player, is cup-tied after a loan at Boston United. Glenn Cronin and Rob Marsh-Evans are unavailable through injury.

Former England international Wright says he is making sure his players concentrate on the Town match: “From our point of view, this is a big, big game. I'll be telling the players to keep focused on Ipswich, but as a club we're thinking what might be round the corner if we win this one.

“For a club of our size, if we were to get Liverpool or Manchester United, for example, the money we made from that one game would pay for our entire season.

“That gives us every incentive to go for it against Ipswich. In the FA Cup anything can happen - look at Sutton beating Coventry - and Jim Magilton will know that.”

If the match ends in a draw, the replay will be at Portman Road on Tuesday, 16th January (KO 7.45pm).

Saturday's referee is Jon Moss from West Yorkshire, who has shown 56 yellow and three red cards in 23 games this season. Moss's last Town game was the 3-1 defeat at Leicester in August in which he booked Gavin Williams.

Squad: Barron, Brittain, Bruce, Casement, Clarke, De Vos, Garvan, Harding, Haynes, Lee, Legwinski, Naylor, Peters, Price, Richards, Roberts, Supple, Williams.

Town fans may also want to cheer on former Academy striker Steve Burton when he takes on Norwich City with non-league Tamworth at The Lamb. The game is live on BBC1 on Saturday lunchtime. Burton was in the Town youth set-up alongside Darren Bent, Darren Ambrose, Matt Richards and Ian Westlake.

Photo: Action Images

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