Boss Jim Magilton looks likely to field an unchanged side for Sunday's crucial final day game against automatic promotion chasing Hull City (KO 2pm, Sky Sports Two). The Blues will again be without David Norris and Richard Naylor, but everyone else is available.

Town go into Sunday knowing that they must beat Hull and hoping that results elsewhere go in their favour. The scenarios which would see Town into or out of the play-offs are more complicated than any the Blues have been involved in on previous last-day showdowns.

As well as defeating the Tigers, Town need two of the three sides above them –Wolves, Palace or Watford – to lose or that Wolves draw and either Watford or Palace are defeated, or Palace draw if Town beat Hull by three goals or more.

Sheffield United are on the same points as Town but would need to win their game by three more goals than the Blues win theirs to finish ahead of them if both sides gain the victories they require to be in contention for a top six place.

Hull need to beat Town and hope that Stoke lose their game at home to relegation-battling Leicester City in order to join West Brom in the Premier League next season. If this fails to happen, the Tigers will finish in third with fourth-placed Bristol City unable to catch them.

Boss Jim Magilton says he and his squad will rue not making the top six this season if Sunday fails to go their way: "It will be a wasted opportunity if we do not make the play-offs.

"We have made strides this season, but it is a Championship where everybody has had an opportunity.

"A number of clubs, us included, will feel it is a wasted opportunity if we don't take advantage and move up.

"But if it doesn't happen, then we will lick our wounds and be better for the experience next season.

"We have new players still bedding in and with some summer signings expected we should be in even better shape when next season starts.”

The Town boss is hoping for better last day luck than in previous years: "Ipswich have not been very lucky on the final days of previous seasons when they have been hunting for promotion or play-off positions and I have personal experience of some of these as a player.

"Hopefully, things will swing our way on Sunday, but all we can do is win our match and hope other teams can do us a favour.”

Loanee Stephen Bywater is likely to continue in goal with David Wright on the left, Danny Simpson on the right and skipper Jason De Vos, like Simpson and Bywater perhaps playing his final game for the Blues, and Alex Bruce in the centre. Richard Naylor is out having undergone neck surgery.

In midfield, Danny Haynes is likely to be on the right despite Magilton feeling that the youngster is tiring after a long season. Owen Garvan and Tommy Miller will be in the centre with Alan Quinn on the left. David Norris underwent an operation to cure his heel injury earlier in the week.

Up front, Jon Walters will partner Pablo Couñago with Alan Lee, Shefki Kuqi and Jordan Rhodes all likely to be included in the 16 in case Town need to push for a late goal in numbers.

Hull boss Phil Brown is waiting on the fitness of defender Andy Dawson, who has a foot problem, Dean Windass, who had stitches to leg wound last week, and Henrik Pedersen, who has a calf injury. Richard Garcia and Jay-Jay Okocha have an outside chance of involvement, but are only likely to be subs.

Brown says Stoke could be adversely affected by his side's late goal against Crystal Palace denying them promotion last week: "They thought they were already up. You could see the cries of joy turn to pain and disappointment on the television - that was music to my ears.

"The effect of Ian Ashbee's winner against Crystal Palace was massive on the promotion Richter scale, absolutely massive.

"Stoke had one foot in the Premier League on Saturday, they could feel it and they could touch it. Players and fans looked disappointed once they heard about our goal.

"They thought they were there but we took it away from them. That could have a tremendous detrimental effect on them.

"There's no need for me to start banning my players from talking about Stoke, I'm going nowhere near Stoke's game in my preparations.

"We need to win our own game on Sunday or we won't have any chance of going up automatically. That's all that is concerning me."

A likely starter in the Hull side will be former Blue Wayne Brown, who will be looking to get back into the Premier League after playing the occasional top flight game for Town.

Simon Walton is currently on loan at the KC having had a similar spell with the Blues last season, while midfielder Ryan France had a trial at Portman Road back in 2003 before joining the Tigers.

Jon Walters is one of three current Town players to have had a loan spell in East Yorkshire, but the only one to have signed permanently. Walters was on loan from Bolton in 2003 before signing full-time for 15 months between February 2004 and July 2005 for £50,000.

David Norris was on loan, also from Bolton, in 2002, while Stephen Bywater made four appearances during a similar short-term spell from West Ham in late 1999 and early 2000. Alan Lee was a Tigers target last summer but in the end signed a new deal with the Blues.

Historically, Town and Hull are closely matched, the Blues having won seven times, eight games having ended in draws with the Tigers victorious on eight occasions, the most recent the 3-1 win at the KC Stadium in September when Henrik Pedersen scored twice and Wayne Brown once for the home side, while Dan Harding netted for the Blues. The teams have never met in a cup competition.

Last season's game at Portman Road was a 0-0 draw and the Hull's most recent win at Portman Road was back in 1989/90 when the Tigers defeated the Blues 1-0 with a Bryan Gayle own goal separating the teams.

The game is live on Sky Sports Two but via the red interactive button which means Sky subscribers on the Virgin platform will be unable to see the match. US-based fans can watch the match, but with a 14-hour delay. Setanta Sports is showing the game at 11pm East Coast Time/8pm West Coast Time.

TWTD issue 92, our 1978 FA Cup final special, will be on sale from our stall by Sir Alf and our sellers around the ground before kick-off.

The issue features interviews with Paul Mariner and George Burley as well as fans' views of the 78 final and cup run, and also more contemporary material. We'll also be selling our 78-themed Sgt Pepper posters.

If you can't make the game, you can buy the fanzine from here, while the Pepper poster is available here.

Look out for the representatives of the Supporters Club wearing tabards and bearing clipboards on which you can vote for the Player of the Year. You can also cast your vote online here. A clipboard will also be found on the TWTD stall.

Sunday's referee is Premier League official Andre Marriner from the West Midlands, who has shown 112 yellow and six red cards in 38 games so far this season. Marriner's last Town game was the 2-1 defeat at Cardiff in November 2005 in which he red-carded Fabian Wilnis for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity when he pulled back Cameron Jerome.

A better omen is that Marriner was the referee in both legs of the 2005 FA Youth Cup final in which the Blues, including Danny Haynes and in the away game Owen Garvan, defeated Southampton.

Likely squad: Bywater, Colgan, Wright, Simpson, Sito, Harding, De Vos, Bruce, Wilnis, Garvan, Miller, Sumulikoski, Trotter, Quinn, Haynes, Williams, Roberts, Walters, Couñago, Lee, Kuqi, Rhodes.

Photo: Action Images

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