| Reading 2 v 2 Ipswich Town Carabao Cup Tuesday, 29th August 2023 Kick-off 20:00 |  |
Pert: I Think We'll Change It Monday, 28th Aug 2023 10:36 Assistant manager Martyn Pert says Town will field a changed team when they travel to take on League One Reading in the Carabao Cup second round at the Select Car Leasing Stadium on Tuesday evening (KO 8pm). The Blues beat Bristol Rovers 2-0 at Portman Road earlier this month in round one, while the Royals pulled off a surprise 4-0 victory at Millwall. Town go into Tuesday’s game following Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Leeds, their first league defeat since January and their first loss in any competition since February. “It was a cracking game for the fans, 4-3,” Pert told TownTV. “The manager [Kieran McKenna] said it would be 4-3 before the game, but obviously in favour of us. It was a cracking game in terms of goal action and I thought we played really well. “There were moments where we’ve conceded four goals, so moments you’d really want to improve on and we’re disappointed with some of the goals, but generally I thought, as a team, we played really well. “We attacked them and had a large number of shots, especially in the first half and they were defending and putting bodies behind the ball in the second half and we were trying to push for that goal. “But in the end they broke away and showed a little bit of quality to get the fourth goal, which took it away from us until Chappers [Conor Chaplin]’s great strike late on and then we were looking to try and [get another] but the time just ran out and we just couldn’t get there in the end.” He added: “It was a really demanding game. I think all the games in the Championship are demanding and that was like most of them so far this season but the lads have come through quite well. “I think there are a few knocks and bruises but they’ll check on them today but everyone finished the game OK, so we’ll see how it goes with the treatments and stuff today.”
Full-back Janoi Donacien and striker George Hirst missed out with groin and adductor issues respectively and neither look set to face the Royals. “I think with JD, it was a groin injury from the game at QPR and I think he will probably struggle for the weekend [when Town host Cardiff in the Championship],” Pert continued. “George was touch and go will probably just miss out on Tuesday night, but we’ll see how he goes for the rest of the week.” With the Blues having made such a positive start to the season, they had won all their games prior to Saturday, new signings Cieran Slicker, Jack Taylor and Omari Hutchinson have had limited involvement. Are they likely to start, as they did against the Pirates in round one, along with more recent recruit Brandon Williams? “I think we’ll change it, we changed it for the previous game and I think it will be similar in terms of making changes,” Pert said. “I’m not sure what those changes will be, we’re discussing it at the moment, but definitely changes to get players minutes and going there to try and get the win.” Quizzed on whether Reading, relegated from the Championship last season having been deducted six points for breaching the terms of an agreed business plan following an earlier profit and sustainability rule breach, will have a point to prove, Pert reflected: “Everyone’s got a point to prove, every team at home would want to go and win their game at home, a League Cup game, so they’ll look to win the game, for sure. “And they’ve got some good players and they’ve got a good coach [Ruben Selles] and they look like a well-coached team, so it’ll be a difficult game going down there. “In these games, you’re not 100 per cent sure what the teams will look like. We’ll make changes, I would expect them to make changes too with the demands of the league and we’ll go to the game trying to win, but it will be a tough game.” As in the Bristol Rovers match Town will probably switch their entire XI with Slicker looking likely to start in goal with Nick Hayes the sub keeper. Dom Ball may well start at right-back as he did against the Gas with new loan signing Williams, who came on as a sub on Saturday, making his full debut at left-back. George Edmundson and Elkan Baggott could again be the centre-halves as they were in the previous round. In central midfield, Lee Evans will probably skipper alongside Taylor with Cameron Humphreys probably coming off the bench at some stage. Ahead of them, Sone Aluko will probably make his first start of the season against his old club on the right of the three with Hutchinson down the middle and Marcus Harness on the left. Freddie Ladapo looks set to start as the number nine. Kyle Edwards seems unlikely to be included having been left out of the squad for the Bristol Rovers tie as a new club, either on a permanent or loan basis, is sought for the winger. Town, whose 2,000-plus ticket allocation has sold out, could again include one or two youngsters on the bench with Ryan Carr, Leon Ayinde and Zak Bradshaw having been in the 20 against the Pirates, although the latter has subsequently joined Woking on loan. Reading are currently 16th in League One, having won two and lost three of their five league games so far and having been docked a further point this season. They have won two out of three at home, losing 1-0 to Peterborough on the opening day before beating Cheltenham 1-0 and Stevenage 2-0. You can read more on their squad and start to the season in a TWTD Blog here. Royals boss Selles says he will field a changed side and is looking to match the impressive display from the Millwall tie. “It will be a mix between the players who played today [Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Exeter] and some of others who will come in, so there will be some changes because we need to take care of our players,” he told his club’s website. “Everybody is working hard and everybody deserves an opportunity – and the cup gives an opportunity to give some minutes to players who haven’t been playing regularly for us. “When you are in our squad, you are important for us. It doesn’t matter if you are a starter or a finisher of the game or a substitute, you just need to be able to make an impact on the game when you get the chance. “But Tuesday night is also a game I want to win and that is what I’m going to try to do. I think I have players enough to go for it. “It's an exciting challenge in a competition we like to play in. And as we did last time, we are going to go for it. “I’ll be very happy if we can repeat the performance we put in at Millwall in the first round, that’s for sure. But I want us to repeat that performance every week of course.” Tuesday's game will go straight to penalties if level at the end of 90 minutes. The draw for the third round will take place on Wednesday evening live on Sky Sports Football following the Doncaster-Everton tie from around 10.15pm. Town have just about had the better of the Royals historically, winning 26 times (25 in the league), drawing 11 (11) and losing 23 (23). The teams have never previously met in the League Cup. The teams last met at Portman Road in March 2019 when the Royals beat the Blues 2-1 to extend Town’s gap to Championship safety to 12 points with only 11 matches to play. Nelson Oliveira’s 19th-minute opener gave the visitors a half-time lead before sub Gwion Edwards gave the Blues hope on 83, but Modou Barrow claimed Reading’s second away win of the season and their first since September in the final minute. At the Madejski Stadium in the previous November, Yakou Meite’s header six minutes from time prevented the Blues from claiming the first win of the Paul Lambert era as Town and Reading drew 2-2. Edwards volleyed the Blues in front on five as the game got off to a frenetic start, Meite levelled with his first of the afternoon for the home side two minutes later, before Freddie Sears restored Town’s lead on 11. Reading improved after the break with Meite sealing a share of the spoils on 84 with his second of the game. Blues forward Aluko was with Reading prior to joining Town in the summer of 2021 having spent four years with the Royals following a £7.5 million move from Fulham. The Nigeria international made 63 starts and 39 sub appearances, scoring six times. Reading midfielder Charlie Savage was one of two Manchester United youngsters to spend time training with the Blues in April 2022. Veteran Royals striker Andy Carroll came close to joining Town on loan from Newcastle in 2008 but opted against the move when he realised how far Ipswich was from the North-East. Tuesday’s referee is Lewis Smith from Wigan, who has shown 24 yellow cards and no red in five games so far this season. Smith will be refereeing Town for the first time. Squad from: Slicker, Hayes, Hladky, Clarke, Ball, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Baggott, Williams, Davis, Morsy, Evans, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys, Burns, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Ladapo, Carr, Ayinde.
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