Blues Out to Improve Home Form Against Resurgent Leeds Tuesday, 12th Jan 2016 06:00 Town face an improving Leeds United side at Portman Road looking to win back-to-back home games in the Championship for the first time since August. While the Blues - who could climb as high as fourth tonight depending on the result of their game and those involving Brighton and Burnley - have excelled away from home this season - they won 1-0 at Elland Road in September - their Championship home form has been less than impressive, having won only four of their 12 games at Portman Road with five ending in draws and three defeats. Town's record in Tuesday evening games at home is somewhat better, however, with the Blues having won 14 of them on the trot. Last time out in the league on Suffolk soil they beat QPR 2-1 and they have a chance to record successive home Championship victories for the first time since they defeated Burnley and Sheffield Wednesday in the season’s opening month. Manager Mick McCarthy says the resurgent Whites will be no slouches having gone eight games without a defeat in all competitions. “I think they’ve really improved,” the Blues boss said. “They’ve got good players, no doubt about that for all the disarray at times. “They’ve just taken Liam Bridcutt in [on loan from Sunderland], they signed Chris Wood for £3 million and they signed Stuart Dallas one and a bit million. “Sam Byram’s attracting all sorts of interest, they’ve spent a few quid and they’ve got good players there and I think it’ll be a really tough game. “Lewis Cook, Alex Mowatt, Byram, they’re [all youngsters] that are really catching the eye. Up front they’ve got Mirco Antenucci playing, Souleymane Doukara, they’ve got a good team. “If you get players and get them galvanised and get all of them going in the right direction and there don’t seem to be any other issues, it’s amazing what you can do with them. They’re doing well at the minute. “They’ve got their own threats that we will have to deal. I think they’re a good side. I’ve watched three of their games and they look decent, I have to be honest. “There are no easy games in this league but I think they’re on a good run, as are we, and they look settled at the moment, they look like they’re playing with a bit of confidence and a bit of spirit, so that’s always difficult.” McCarthy says stability, which has been the hallmark of his time at Town, is key to building success. “In any organisation, certainly with football teams because we can see how fragile that can be, that consistency and that confidence can be blown away by what people say to people, how they treat each other,” he said. “They just seem to have got that. They’ve got great support, of course, and it’s a fantastic club, I believe they’ve got 2,000 coming down and it’s a long old way to come. Mind you, we had great support up there and we won, it was a great evening out for us. “A tough game in store, but I’m looking forward to it. Back to the league and the real deal, it really matters.” Leeds are currently 13th in the Championship, seven places and nine points behind the Blues, but McCarthy says they’re still in contention for a play-off place. “I think they are because they have that belief that they can get in contention, which is a big thing,” he continued. “And it looks to me that they’ve continue to bring players in. Not small players, they paid £3 million for Wood, a million and a quarter for Stuart Dallas. “They’ve spent money. Bridcutt’s come in on loan from Sunderland and I’m sure they’re not giving him two bob. They’ve strengthened and it sounds to be as if they’re still looking to strengthen.” McCarthy was a Leeds fan as a youngster but says that means nothing when it comes to tonight’s match. “I used to go and watch them when I became a player at Barnsley, but as a kid I didn’t watch anybody, I just played football,” he said. “It was only when I became a pro that I used to go and watch them occasionally. “My favourite team was Sprake, Reaney, Cooper, Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter, Eddie Gray, Peter Lorimer, Bremner, Giles, Clarke and Jones, with Paul Madeley sub. “Paul Madeley was magnificent, a lovely man as well. That was my team. I’ve no problem with it. I am from Yorkshire, all of that, ‘Mick McCarthy was a Leeds fan’. Yes, I was, but I’m not a fan of anybody now except Ipswich and Ipswich Town reserves.” The Blues boss is likely to switch back to essentially the team which drew 0-0 at Burnley 10 days ago with Dean Gerken in goal. Skipper Luke Chambers will be at right-back, Jonas Knudsen at left-back and Tommy Smith and Christophe Berra at the centre of the defence. In midfield, Cole Skuse will be partnered deep in central midfield by either Luke Hyam or Jonathan Douglas with Kevin Bru probably ahead of them, while up front Daryl Murphy is likely to have Ryan Fraser and Freddie Sears to his left and right respectively. For Leeds, former Blues loanee Chris Wood - Leeds’ top scorer with eight this season - is rated at 50/50 with a hamstring strain but won’t be risked if there are any concerns regarding his fitness. Centre-half Giuseppe Bellusci has been passed fit despite limping off with cramp at the weekend. Leeds, who fielded a side featuring four changes as they beat manager Steve Evans’s former club Rotherham 2-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, will train at Cambridge United prior to the match. “We’re very fortunate that Shaun Derry — someone who is very famous at our football club — is the manager of Cambridge United,” Evans told the Whites’ official website. “We’re going to be training there en route on their main stadium pitch. There will be no excuses for preparations when we get to Ipswich nice and early. “The preparation will be good and the boys will have some rest time as well to make sure they’re full of energy and ready for what will be a difficult contest at Portman Road.” While Leeds are unbeaten in their last seven league games - as well as Saturday's FA Cup tie - they have drawn their last three Championship matches. “Our results have been good but they could easily have been better," Evans admitted. “The gap’s still there and I’m not hiding from the fact that this is a massive game for us, in a massive week. As an absolute minimum we have to come out of this week no further back. "We’ll have three homes games in a row after that and our form is picking up at home. I’d back us to take a good number of points of those. “This is about as tough as it gets, Tuesday night away to an Ipswich side who are in form, but a result would make the division sit up. We’ve not really made anyone do that yet." Historically, Leeds have the superior record in the fixture, winning 30 (29 in the league) clashes between the teams. Town have been victorious on 26 (21) occasions and 20 (17) games have ended in draws. The Blues have won five of the last six games between the teams at Portman Road. In September, Tommy Smith’s 32nd minute goal gave Town a 1-0 win at Leeds United, their first victory at Elland Road in 10 years. Keeper Marco Silvestri missed Ryan Fraser’s flag-kick, Leeds defender Liam Cooper inadvertently diverted the ball back across his own area from the far post and Smith nodded home his second goal of the season. In December last year at Portman Road, Murphy scored twice and David McGoldrick (pen) and Christophe Berra once each as Town came from behind to thrash the Whites 4-1. The visitors went ahead via Mirco Antenucci in the fourth minute but Murphy struck back on 12, then McGoldrick netted Town’s first spot-kick of the season on 26. Murphy added his second just before the break and Berra added the fourth three minutes into the second half. Town midfielder Jonathan Douglas was with the Whites between 2005 and 2009, initially on loan from Blackburn, and made 151 starts and 15 sub appearances, scoring 11 goals. Out-of-favour Blues winger Cameron Stewart made nine starts and two sub appearances for Leeds during a loan spell there during the second half of 2013/14. The move was expected to be made permanent the following summer but the Whites pulled out of the deal and the 24-year-old subsequently joined Town. Luke Varney was at Elland Road between 2012 and 2014, scoring eight goals in 42 starts and eight substitute appearances. Blues assistant manager Terry Connor was with his hometown club between 1979 and 1983, scoring 22 goals in 108 games. Leeds striker Chris Wood spent two months on loan with the Blues last season, failing to find the net in three starts and five sub appearances. He joined the Whites - against whom he made his Town debut at Elland Road in March 2015 - from Leicester in the summer. Tonight's referee is Fred Graham from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex, who has shown 82 yellow cards and one red in 19 games so far this season. His most recent Town match was the 2-1 home victory over Stevenage in the Capital One Cup back in August in which he booked Giles Coke, Myles Kenlock and Larsen Touré as well as two Boro players. Prior to that he was in charge of the 1-0 victory over Bolton at Portman Road in March 2015, while he was also in charge for the 4-2 win at Brentford on Boxing Day 2014. The Blues have a remarkable record when Graham is officiating, winning 10, drawing two and so far losing none. Squad from: Gerken, Bialkowski, Chambers (c), Knudsen, Emmanuel, Berra, Smith, Malarczyk, Skuse, Douglas, Hyam, Coke, Tabb, Bru, Maitland-Niles, Fraser, Oar, Sears, Pitman, Murphy, Varney.
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