Mick McCarthy’s former club Wolves are at Portman Road tonight as injury-hit Town go into a difficult run of three games against sides currently in the Championship’s top four.

Jonny Williams (calf), Jonny Parr, Dean Gerken, Cole Skuse and Teddy Bishop (all groin) are missing, but right-back Elliott Hewitt has returned at the end of his month on loan at Colchester and midfielder Kevin Bru is fit having missed the last two matches, also with a groin problem.

After tonight’s visit by Wolves, who are fourth, leaders Watford are in Suffolk on Saturday, prior to Town making the trip to second-placed AFC Bournemouth following the international break.

“Tough games against good teams,” McCarthy said. “But let’s start with Wolves first. I haven’t even looked at the points that they’ve got, but I know they’re above us and can perhaps go top if they win and results go for them.

“So they’ll be coming here full of spirit and buoyant. But we are ourselves as well in terms of what we’ve been doing.

“It was a good result on Saturday, a good performance and we’ve just got to have a good home performance.”

What particularly impressed him about the 2-0 win at Blackpool? “The clean sheet and the fact that we didn’t make any errors, anything that let them off the hook and kept them interested and gave them a chance.

“We just kept slamming doors in people’s faces. Every time there seemed to be a little chink somewhere that opened up, the door got slammed shut in their face.

“And that was good because it wasn’t a great performance. Teddy Bishop was involved in both goals, for the second one that was a bit of magic that he created.

“If you can keep clean sheets you’re always going get something, whether it’s from a freekick or a corner or a bit of magic like Teddy produced for the second one.”

He’s been impressed with the way his old club have continued last season’s League One-winning form since their return to the Championship.

“They’ve got momentum with them, they’ve got good players,” he added. “They’ve certainly got a threat up the front.

“They left a few out on Saturday, I don’t know whether they were all injured or with the games they’ve got coming up - they’re here on Tuesday and they’ve got Derby on Saturday - whether Kenny Jackett thought he’d mix and match the squad a little bit.

“Bakary Sako didn’t play, Nouha Dicko didn’t play, Dave Edwards didn’t play, Rajiv van La Parra, the winger, didn’t play.

“I don’t know if they’re injured. I said before I never believe anything anybody tells me about a team before I get the teamsheet in my hand at a quarter to seven on a Tuesday night. I suspect that the big hitters will play against us on Tuesday.”

Does he feel Wolves are capable of emulating the likes of Southampton and winning back to back promotions?

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen them first hand yet,” he said. “They look a good side and they’re in the top six, so they’ve got the potential to do it.

“I think they’ve still got parachute money and I think they’ve still got the ability if they’re in that position in January to add to their squad.”

He says his opposite number Jackett has done well since his appointment in the summer of 2013: “He’s proven himself to be a good manager.

“He did an excellent job at Millwall and on that back of a promotion last year, he’s got a good young, vibrant team that are buzzing at the minute and it’ll be a tough old game.”

McCarthy says he feels no bitterness regarding his sacking by Wolves following a 5-1 home loss to West Brom in February 2012.

“I’ve only got good memories of it and the pals I made there. I said at the time that I understood it, we’d just dropped into the bottom three, we got beaten by our nearest and not so dearest, West Brom, and the pressure was on.

“I didn’t think it was right and of course I always said I thought I would have kept them up, but I can’t prove that. But not a hint of bitterness towards anybody, only really good memories and lots of good pals.”

Does he see similarities between the Wolves side he took to the Championship title in 2008/09 and the current Town team?

“Yes, in terms of our team spirit and the feel that we’ve got in the squad. And some of the quality that we’ve got in the squad as well."

With games coming thick and fast, McCarthy believes it's important to take the traditional one match at a time approach.

"It’s just bonkers, the league, and you’ve just got to stay focused on winning the next game," he said. "That’s all and if we can do that we’ll have a chance.”

Bartosz Bialkowski will make his home debut in goal in Gerken’s absence with 18-year-old Michael Crowe the keeper cover on the bench.

McCarthy seems likely to stick with the same defence he fielded at Blackpool with skipper Luke Chambers at right-back, Tyrone Mings on the left and Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith in the centre.

The Town boss will probably stick with the 4-3-3 he has utilised in recent weeks rather than switching to 4-4-2 with Bru likely to come into the side in place of the absent Skuse alongside Luke Hyam in central midfield.

Stephen Hunt or Paul Anderson could perhaps taking up the more advanced midfield role with David McGoldrick, Daryl Murphy and Conor Sammon up front.

If McCarthy does decide to move to 4-4-2 then Hunt and Anderson will probably start on the flanks with Sammon dropping out.

Jack Collison and Cameron Stewart played for the U21s in yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to QPR and are unlikely to be involved in tonight’s squad. Stewart played the full 90 minutes and Collison came off at half-time having suffered a knock early on.

Wolves striker Nouha Dicko missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Birmingham with a hamstring problem and manager Jackett has confirmed he will be absent tonight with Liam McAlinden set to deputise.

“We have to be very aware that it is the second time Dicko has missed games with a tight hamstring," he said. "It’s a recurrence and we don’t want that to develop into a problem.

“He won’t go to Ipswich and he’s very doubtful for Derby as well, unless there is a big turnaround. It is general tightness in his hamstring, something we thought he’d come through with no midweek game last week."

Defender Scott Golbourne remains absent with a foot problem, but midfielder Bakary Sako is likely to be back in the starting XI after coming on as a sub at the weekend having been suffering with a groin injury.

Yesterday, Wolves announced the signing of former West Brom, Manchester United and Brighton keeper Tomasz Kuszczak on a short-term deal until January.

Jackett believes the visit to Portman Road is one of two tough games for his side this week: “Ipswich and Derby are two tests but we want to test ourselves with the best clubs.

"These are two of the best clubs, both went close last year. The David McGoldrick injury maybe cost Ipswich from getting into the top six and they’ll always be there or thereabouts in the Championship - traditionally they always have been over the years.

"And they have a very good and experienced manager now. There’s not many times they’ve been outside the top 30 clubs in the country.

"They’ve either been in the Premier League or knocking on the Premier League door, and if they drop into the bottom half of the table they can usually sort themselves out. They have aspirations this year, quite rightly, of going up.”

The sides are evenly matches over the years, Town winning 28 times (27 in the league), Wolves 27 times (24) and with 20 games (17) ending in draws.

The sides last met four days after Christmas 2012 during Wolves’ relegation season. The game was Mick McCarthy’s first return to Molineux and it ended in victory.

A goal in each half from Aaron Cresswell and DJ Campbell saw the Blues to a comfortable 2-0 win. Cresswell netted the opener in the 33rd minute with Campbell slotting home his 10th and final goal of his loan spell on 64.

In the September at Portman Road, during Paul Jewell’s time in charge, Town missed a hatful of chances as Wolves left Portman Road with a 2-0 victory.

A second-half own goal by Tommy Smith then a long distance strike from sub Tongo Doumbia were enough to take the points with the Blues profligate in front of goal throughout.

Blues manager McCarthy was the Wolves boss between July 2006 and February of 2012. Town assistant boss Terry Connor fulfilled a similar role during McCarthy’s time at Molineux — having joined the club in 1999 under John Ward’s management - before briefly taking over as manager after McCarthy’s departure.

After a similarly short spell as his successor StÃ¥le Solbakken’s assistant, he left Molineux four games into the 2012/13 season, rejoining McCarthy at Town in the November.

Blues coach Mark Kennedy wore the old gold from 2001 until 2006, while Town’s director of football Dave Bowman and scout Ian Evans were both at Molineux until they followed McCarthy and Connor at Portman Road.

Stephen Hunt, Christophe Berra and the on-loan Frank Nouble all played under McCarthy and Connor at Molineux.

Wolves defender Richard Stearman spent the second half of 2012/13 on loan with the Blues, making 15 appearances, while new signing Kuszczak held talks with Town in the summer of 2012 before ultimately joining Brighton.

Tonight’s referee is Andrew Madley from West Yorkshire, who has shown 34 yellow cards and one red in 12 matches so far this season.

Madley’s most recent Town match was the 1-1 home draw with Nottingham Forest in March in which he booked Jonny Williams and four visiting players.

Squad from: Bialkowski, Crowe, Chambers (c), Hewitt, Mings, Berra, Smith, Clarke, Hyam, Bru, Hunt, Anderson, Tabb, Henshall, Ambrose, McGoldrick, Murphy, Sammon, Bajner.

Photo: Action Images

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