Boss Mick McCarthy looks likely to be forced into at least one change when the Blues travel to Brighton on Saturday with midfielder Cole Skuse expected to be unavailable. Town, who are ninth, six points off the play-off zone, would appear to need to take at least a draw from the game against the eighth-placed Seagulls in order to maintain their top six challenge.

Skuse, who has been ever-present in his holding midfield role during Town’s Championship campaign so far, suffered a kick to the leg in last week’s 3-1 home defeat to Wigan and hasn’t trained this week.

McCarthy could opt to match the 4-3-3 system Brighton have employed in recent games with Paul Green perhaps the man to fill Skuse’s usual position, having occupied a similar role in the past, most notably for Ireland. The on-loan Leeds man replaced Skuse in the second half against the Latics.

Luke Hyam is another option, having been used as a holding midfield player by previous bosses Roy Keane and Paul Jewell, but McCarthy may prefer to use him in his more regular role. The other central slot could go to Jay Tabb, while Stephen Hunt and Jonny Williams are other alternatives.

Williams, however, may instead be included in the front three along with Daryl Murphy and Frank Nouble, who is back from his hamstring injury. Top scorer David McGoldrick remains sidelined with his medial knee ligament injury.

If McCarthy decides to stick with the 4-4-1-1 formation he used against Wigan, Murphy will be up front on his own and Williams behind him with Paul Anderson and Hunt in the wide midfield roles and Hyam partnering Green in the centre.

Whichever formation he decides to go with McCarthy will probably stick with his regular back four — skipper Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra, Tommy Smith and Aaron Cresswell — and keeper Dean Gerken.

The Town boss says it’s no surprise that Brighton have the best defensive record in the division, having conceded only 28 goals in 35 league games.

“If they lose it they’ll get back in and defend deep, they’ve generally got one sat in front of the back four,” he said.

“Rohan Ince, who joined them from Chelsea, is sitting there doing it, so it makes them a hard team to break down.

“And that will be the case. Even at home they’re quite happy to sit in when you’ve got the ball and try and catch you on the break and they’re very good on the counter-attack.”

He says the Seagulls are a slightly different team under Oscar Garcia’s management, the Spaniard having taken over after Gus Poyet and assistant Mauricio Taricco's departure last summer.

“I think they’re still similar, except they’ve got Leonardo Ulloa, the big 6ft 4in or whatever he is striker up front. That’s kind of different.

“They had Craig Mackail-Smith, who used to run and get in the channels and cause you real problems that way. This fella will still do that but he’s big enough to have it into him so they can play it up to him and he can link up with his midfield players.

“I don’t think they pass you off the pitch quite so much now, although maybe that’s the time year with the pitches, but they’re still very capable passing it, however, they’ve got other strings to their bow.”

A crowd close to 30,000 is expected at the Amex Stadium, the Blues’ allocation having sold out, and the Town boss says Brighton are back to where they used to be after some difficult years following their departure from the Goldstone Ground.

“I think it was a big club then it lost its way a little bit for financial reasons and they ended up playing at the Withdean Stadium.

“I think it is a big club, it has been, it just had its little spell in the wilderness but it’s got back to being that way.

“I haven’t been to the stadium, but I’m told it’s fabulous. I’ve seen it, it looks great and there’s always a great atmosphere there. I’m looking forward to it.”

Brighton boss Garcia told the Seagulls club site that he’s looking to avenge Town’s 2-0 win at Portman Road early in the season: "We want to make up for the result that we had away from home and this must be our mentality; to pick up the three points in front of our own fans.

"There will be a good atmosphere and we're looking forward to it. Ipswich always play with a direct style and they will not change that so we must be prepared."

Suffolk-born former England central defender Matt Upson is expected to return to the Brighton side after flu, while Ireland international and one-time Town loanee Keith Andrews is also expected to be back in the team having been ineligible for last week’s 2-0 victory over his parent club Bolton.

Striker Will Hoskins is back in contention after a year out with a cruciate knee ligament injury, but Craig Mackail-Smith isn’t yet ready after an Achilles’ tendon problem. Midfielder Andrea Orlandi is out with a thigh injury.

Historically, Town have the upper hand, having won 28 of the games (25 in the league) between the sides, Brighton 22 (20) and with 13 (12) ending in draws.

In September at Portman Road, David McGoldrick netted in the 20th and 24th minutes to see the Blues to a comfortable 2-0 home victory.

While the deflected first had an element of good fortune, the second was as good as anything the striker has scored for the Blues.

Town were last at the Amex Stadium in October 2012 when Brighton sub Will Buckley netted 10 minutes from time to grab a 1-1 draw. The Seagulls had put on the pressure in the second half after Town had gone in front via Daryl Murphy in the first period.

Midfielder Keith Andrews, who is on loan with the Seagulls from Bolton, is the only player in either squad to have represented the opposition, although veteran defender Matthew Upson was born in Hartismere near Eye and was with Town’s Centre of Excellence as a schoolboy.

Brighton midfielder Jake Caskey-Forster is the stepson of ex-Blues and Seagulls striker Nicky Forster, while keeper Tomasz Kuszczak turned down a move to Portman Road to join the Sussex club in the summer of 2012. Town assistant boss Terry Connor was a player with the Seagulls between 1983 and 1987.

Saturday’s referee is Darren Drysdale from Lincolnshire, who has shown 89 yellow cards and eight red in 28 games so far this season. Drysdale’s last Town match was the 1-1 draw at Birmingham in August when he booked Luke Hyam and one opposition player.

Squad from: Gerken, Loach, Chambers, Richardson, Cresswell, Mings, Berra, Smith, Green, Hyam, Tabb, Hunt, Williams, Anderson, Edwards, Wordsworth, Murphy, Ebanks-Blake, Nouble, Taylor.

Photo: Action Images

karls_dad added 09:12 - Mar 22 Taylor will not be in the starting eleven for sure, MM will stick with donkey Nouble God and MM only knows why? just what exactly he contributes i have no idea! Taylor is the only player we have with flair and vision at the moment and will be bench warming, only to get an few minutes when its all too late yet again! I really can,t see us getting anything today, shame but thats reality,

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jas0999 added 09:46 - Mar 22 I just hope we go there to win the game. If we have any remaining hope of the play offs we need to win today. A draw won't be much good. We have little to lose really. Mick has turned us into a team who will have little worries about going down, so we may as well look to win matches rather than play for a draw. Having said that, the next three games are tough. Brighton are a good team. But we should be good enough to give them a good game.

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warktheline added 09:52 - Mar 22 Agree with you on this one Blueboy, it's time to hit the front foot and ATTACK. Don't think we are good enough to keep it tight and nick a goal, on current form. Defensively we haven't been good of late.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:47 - Mar 22 Blues "allocation sold out." Once again, the Town away support does us proud. Sorry I can't be with you in person today, lads, but see you against Derby and again against Forest, when there will be around 40 Swedes at PR.
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TimmyH added 11:36 - Mar 22 'Crucial'? - a bit over the top as there are Reading, Wigan, Forest in the mix quite a few points ahead, wouldn't surprise me if this game turns out similar to the Forest away game, possibly a 0-0 or them maybe nicking it. I just don't feel we have enough options attacking wise (or Mick won't play them) to get 3 points.
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roytheboy added 12:55 - Mar 22 Paul Taylor must start, he is too creative to leave on the bench until it's all but too late, he is a very talented footballer and most people who've watched him play will know this, you are a good Manager generally Mick but you are shooting yourself and the rest of us, in the foot by the strange way that you fail to see this, choosing to play Frank Nouble instead of him !! I like Frank and want him to become better for us, however he is not yet to Paul Taylor's standard and we need to win games.

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roytheboy added 14:20 - Mar 22 Just heard that Paul Taylor is not even on the bench today, I feel very disillusioned by Mick, let's hope we get the win today otherwise I think he needs to tell us why he refuses to play Taylor.
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