Blues Visit Bristol Rovers at Start of Run Against Teams in Bottom Half Monday, 13th Feb 2023 16:46 Town visit Bristol Rovers on Tuesday evening as they go into a crucial run of games against teams in the bottom half of the division, a streak which gives the Blues a chance to put themselves firmly back in the automatic promotion hunt. Following the trip to the Memorial Stadium to take on 14th-placed Rovers, bottom club Forest Green Rovers visit Portman Road on Saturday, the Blues travel to 20th-placed MK Dons, then Burton, 18th, and third-bottom Accrington are in Suffolk. Town go into that run third, six points behind Sheffield Wednesday in second with the Owls hosting Morecambe on Tuesday. Leaders Plymouth, eight points in front of the Blues, are at Oxford United, while Bolton, who are now behind Town on goal difference alone but having played a game more, are at home to MK. The Blues are in action for the fourth time in 11 days but manager Kieran McKenna has no problem with matches coming thick and fast. “It's important the lads are ready but we are glad to have the games at the moment,” McKenna told iFollow Ipswich. “We want to have the chance to build momentum and with each game you get that chance. “We have good availability in the squad and lots of players fit and ready. We need to make sure that whoever is involved is ready. “I am looking forward to the game tomorrow and I haven't been to Memorial Stadium before. Every game is tough and we need to be ready both physically and mentally. “We have recovered as well as we can and we will focus on everything we can do to be set for the game.” Regarding Rovers, he added: “They change system a lot, they’re pretty flexible with that, they change system quite often. “They’re a positive team, they’re an aggressive team and they have big threats higher up the pitch and you can see that with the numbers the forwards have put in this year. “We know what the general feel will be. The details within that we can’t predict, so again the focus needs to be on ourselves, making sure we’re ready for what comes. “We know the individual threats they have but we’re going to focus on getting ourselves ready to deliver a performance.” McKenna may tweak his XI from the side which drew 2-2 with Wednesday on Saturday but while sticking with the core of that team. Christian Walton will be in goal with McKenna perhaps continuing with Harry Clarke, Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess in front of him and Wes Burns and Leif Davis in the wide roles. Skipper Sam Morsy again looks set to be partnered by Cameron Humphreys in the middle of midfield but could opt to make changes to his number 10s. Marcus Harness and Sone Aluko could come in for Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead, who was suffering with cramp at the end of Saturday’s match. Freddie Ladapo may well return as the central striker with George Hirst having started the previous two matches.
Rovers are on a poor run having lost their last five in all competitions, the final four of those in the league. On Saturday, they were beaten 1-0 away at Lincoln City, having been defeated 2-0 at home by the MK Dons at home the previous weekend. At home this season, the Gas have won five, drawn four and lost five. Only table-propping Forest Green, 27, have conceded more on home turf than Rovers’ 24 goals. Overall, they have conceded the third most in the division, 53, but have scored 43 times, the seventh-highest total in League One. Manager Joey Barton says his side needs to start winning sooner rather than later. “It’s always disappointing when you lose games,” he told his club's official website. “Nothing can replace the winning feeling, so we’ve got to get back to that as soon as possible with Ipswich and Burton to come at home. “The games come at you thick and fast, which is good for us. You don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it. “I’m hoping we can use the anger and frustration of [Saturday] because our players feel aggrieved at some of the decisions that were made to spur that into positive results and performances in the near future.” Rovers will be without striker Ryan Loft, who was sent off during Saturday’s defeat at Sincil Bank, one of a number of controversial decisions to go against the Pirates, while midfielder Paul Coutts missed the game due to illness. Midfielder Jordan Rossiter is a long-term absentee with a knee injury but on-loan Everton centre-half Lewis Gibson, who was linked with a loan move to the Blues on a number of occasions, is closing in on a return from a thigh problem. Another midfielder, Antony Evans, and keeper James Belshaw are expected to be fit enough to return to the squad following foot and rib injuries respectively. Historically, the clubs are well matched with Town having won more overall and Rovers most often in league competition. The Pirates have won 15 (15 in the league) games between the clubs, nine (seven) have been draws with with Town victorious on 17 (11) occasions. In September at Portman Road, Chaplin and Lee Evans, who is out with a knee injury, were on target as Town comfortably beat nine-man Bristol Rovers 2-0 to stay top of League One. Chaplin hit his sixth of the season on 24 in a brilliant Blues spell in the first half, then Evans added the second 10 minutes after the restart with the Pirates having Bobby Thomas and Alfie Kilgour dismissed in the latter stages. Earlier in the half, Town had lost Burgess to the facial injury which saw him require surgery and the insertion of more than 30 screws. Last time at the Memorial Stadium in September 2020, a Max Ehmer own goal and Jon Nolan’s second of the season saw Town to another 2-0 win over Rovers and to the top of the early-season League One table. The Blues had to wait until the 80th minute for Rovers skipper Ehmer to nod sub Jack Lankester’s cross into his own net with Nolan adding the second nine minutes later. Former Blues midfielder Grant Ward joined Rovers during January after leaving Blackpool. The 28-year-old made 75 starts and 23 sub appearances for the Blues between August 2016 and May 2019, scoring eight times, including a hat-trick on his debut having come on as a half-time sub. The Londoner has made two starts and one appearance as a sub for the Pirates. Tuesday’s referee is Paul Howard from London, who has shown 29 yellow cards and three red in 13 games so far this season. Howard will be taking control of his second senior Town match having been the man in the middle for the on-penalties Papa Johns Trophy defeat to Colchester at Portman Road in November 2021 in which he booked Scott Fraser and one of the visitors. Squad from: Walton, Hladky, Clarke, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Keogh, Burgess, Burns, Vincent-Young, Davis, Leigh, Morsy, Humphreys, Luongo, Edwards, Chaplin, Harness, Aluko, Broadhead, Ladapo, Hirst, Jackson.
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