Boss Kieran McKenna says tough games against the likes of Chelsea, who the Blues face at Portman Road on Monday evening (KO 7.45pm), and Arsenal, who beat them 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, are the challenges he wants and which excite him.

Town go into the match, which marks the halfway point in the season and is the final fixture of 2024, 19th in the Premier League, four points plus goal difference from safety following the narrow defeat to the Gunners and Wolves’ 2-2 draw at Tottenham on Sunday.

Chelsea are fourth following the West Londoners’ 2-1 home defeat to Fulham on Thursday, Nottingham Forest having moved ahead of them and the Gunners via their Sunday 2-0 victory at Everton.

The derby loss to the Cottagers, Chelsea’s third Premier League defeat of the season, followed up a 0-0 draw at Everton, a result which ended an eight-game all-competitions winning run, five in the league.

On their travels this season, Chelsea have picked up more points than on their own turf, 20 compared with 15, having won six, drawn two and lost only one, 2-1 to leaders Liverpool at Anfield in October.

Town boss McKenna, whose team has lost five of their last six, knows it’s another difficult fixture but says these games should be relished.

“A tough test, but a great game,” he said. “These tough tests, let’s get it right, coming to the Emirates Stadium to play against Arsenal at Christmas is a positive, it’s not something to fear, it’s not something to feel hesitant about or feel anything other than feel excited about, and Chelsea at home’s the same.

“We know they’re a top side having a very good season but they’re the challenges that we want. Last home game of 2024, let’s go and give it everything we’ve got.”

Despite having picked a team which was able to restrict Arsenal to very few clear-cut chances on Friday, McKenna says he will look at making changes to his XI for the second game in four days.

“I think usually when you’ve got Friday night and Monday night, there’s likely to be some changes. We’ll assess that over the weekend,” he said.

The match is a reunion of the two bosses who won automatic promotion from the Championship last season, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca having left Leicester to take over at Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The Blues and Foxes played out two enthralling 1-1 draws last season, the Blues getting stronger as the games wore on and coming from behind to claim a point on each occasion.

McKenna was asked whether he learnt anything from those matches which he can take into Monday’s fixture.

“I don’t think I learned anything that I wouldn’t learn from watching Chelsea now, really,” he reflected.

“A lot of the structures in possession in particular are the same, but now, of course, he’s working a different calibre of player - although Leicester had very good players as well - which makes it an even bigger challenge.”

McKenna feels Maresca has made a strong start to life in the Premier League, although recalls the West Londoners ending last season positively under former boss Mauricio Pochettino.

“Without seeing the insides of it, he seems to have done very, very well,” he said. “They went about it a little bit differently but they’ve recruited some fantastic players for quite a few transfer windows now, some fantastic young players, and seem to have really found their way with that.

“Enzo’s done a really good job coaching them and getting them into the structure that he likes and turning them into a good team.

“I have to say, to be fair, the second half of last season, Mauricio had really good results there as well and you could see the talent that was there, you could see the talent was coming through, and they had really good results in the second half of last season.

“But I think Enzo’s taken that on to another level this year and he seems to have settled in very well.”

McKenna was asked whether he believes Chelsea are genuine title contenders this season.

“Their manager says not, doesn’t he?” he said. “He’s in a better position to judge than me.

“Liverpool are obviously in incredible form, but they’re certainly one of the best teams in the league, so I guess they’ll make their judgments on that and time will tell in the end.”

The Team

While McKenna says he’ll make changes of personnel, it’s more likely he’ll tweak his side than make very significant amendments.

Aro Muric will be in goal with the Blues boss perhaps again going with the back three which frustrated Arsenal for much of Friday’s match, from the right, Dara O’Shea, Luke Woolfenden and Jacob Greaves.

Leif Davis will be at left wing-back, while McKenna may swap Ben Johnson with Harry Clarke on the right, or perhaps Wes Burns if he wants to add a more attack-focused player in the role.

Skipper Sam Morsy looks certain to return in the centre of midfield for Kalvin Phillips, who was making his first start since the start of November at Arsenal following his ankle injury. Jens Cajuste will continue in the other central role.

Liam Delap seems certain to be the number nine with Omari Hutchinson on the right and various options for the other number 10 role. Nathan Broadhead has made an impact from the bench in recent games but McKenna may feel that the Welshman would be better utilised in that manner again and Sammie Szmodics’s work-rate might be the best choice from the start.

Hutchinson remains on four bookings with Monday’s game the last in which a fifth would result in a one-match ban.

The Opposition

Chelsea head coach Maresca rates his Town counterpart very highly: “He is doing fantastic since he joined Ipswich. They are doing top.

“Even this year, they are doing well so congratulations to him for the way he is doing everything since he joined the club.”

Reflecting on the challenge the Blues will present, speaking at a press conference on Friday, the Italian added: “I think all the Premier League games are complicated, no matter the other team. You see every game we play, it is always complicated. You see the other team, you struggle to beat teams and I think the Ipswich game will be exactly the same.”

Having gone two matches without a win, Maresca feels ending 2024 with a victory is vital.

“Very important,” he said. “We are going to try to prepare the game in the way we try always - to win the game. We have a bad feeling about the game we just lost against Fulham and hopefully we can come back with three points after this game.

“After a game you need to go again no matter the result. Especially this month. I think in December, we already played eight or nine games in 25 or 27 days.

“So now it is also important to recover the energy and go again on Monday and then if we are going to make one change, two changes or three changes, we will see. Now it is a bit early, but for sure, we are going to change something.”

Right-back Reece James (hamstring) and centre-backs Wesley Fofana (also hamstring) and Benoit Badiashile all remain sidelined, while midfielder Romeo Lavia is close to a return, also following a hamstring injury, and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall missed the Fulham game after picking up a knock. Winger Mykhaylo Mudryk is suspended having tested positive for a banned substance in November.

Winger Noni Madueke and left-back Renato Veiga were left out of the squad for the Cottagers match for what Maresca described as a “technical decision” but the Italian says they are in contention to return to the fold at Portman Road.

History

Chelsea have had much the better of Town over the years, winning 23 games (19 in the league), losing nine (nine) and drawing 11 (10).

The Blues are without a win against Chelsea in 10 games in all competitions - seven in the league - since John Lyall’s side won 1-0 at Portman Road in August 1993, recent signing Ian Marshall continuing his goal-a-game record in his third match for the club as Town started the season taking nine points out of nine. That victory is the Blues’ only win in 17 in all competitions against the West Londoners.

The last three league games between the teams at Portman Road have been draws with Chelsea’s last league win in Suffolk a 1-0 success in March 1989, while more recently they won a Carling Cup tie 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in January 1998.

The teams last met in the FA Cup third round in January 2011 when the managerless Blues - Roy Keane having been sacked earlier in the week with his assistant Ian ‘Charlie’ McParland in caretaker charge - were thrashed 7-0 at Stamford Bridge, Town’s record defeat in the competition.

After an evenly balanced first half hour, the cup holders and Premier League champions went on the rampage with the goals coming from Salomon Kalou, Daniel Sturridge (2), Carlos Edwards (OG), Nicolas Anelka and Frank Lampard (2).

The sides also met at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup fourth round in 2009 when Jim Magilton’s team were beaten 3-1.

Superb second-half free-kicks from Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard saw Chelsea to a 3-1 victory, the Blues having matched the Champions League finalists for spells with Alex Bruce equalising Ballack's opener before the break.

The most recent league meeting was at Portman Road in April 2002 with Town on their way to relegation from the Premier League.

George Burley’s side were left rueing Marcus Bent’s first-half penalty miss as a second successive home game ended 0-0.

Chelsea’s Carlo Cudicini was the busier of the two keepers in a game which temporarily took Town out of the bottom three.

Earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge, a last-gasp wonder goal from Sam Dalla Bona won the three points for Chelsea just when Town fans were starting to celebrate a well-won point.

A first-half goal from Gianfranco Zola had put Chelsea deservedly ahead, but as Town improved in the second, Marcus Stewart equalised with a penalty.

Familiar Faces

Hutchinson joined the Blues on a permanent basis from Chelsea for an initial £18 million in the summer, making him the club’s record signing, having spent last season on loan at Portman Road.

The forward joined Chelsea in June 2022 from Arsenal and made two sub appearances - one in the Premier League, one in the FA Cup - while at Stamford Bridge.

Officials

Monday’s referee is John Brooks with Simon Bennett and Sam Lewis his assistants and Darren Bond the fourth official. The VAR official is Michael Oliver with his assistant Nick Greenhalgh.

Leicestershire-based Brooks was the VAR official for the Newcastle match last week and the victory at Tottenham but last took charge of the Blues back in March 2019 as relegation-bound Town were beaten 2-0 at Hull City in the Championship. Gwion Edwards and two Tigers were cautioned.

Brooks was also in the middle for the 2-2 draw at Birmingham City in September 2018 in which Matthew Pennington was given his marching orders for two bookable offences. Cole Skuse was the only other player yellow-carded.

His only other competitive Town match was the 0-0 home draw with Sheffield United in March 2018 in which he yellow-carded Skuse and Stephen Gleeson as well as one Blade.

Squad From

Muric, Walton, Slicker, Davis, Townsend, Johnson, H Clarke, O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Phillips, Luongo, Taylor, Hutchinson, Chaplin, Szmodics, J Clarke, Broadhead, Burns, Delap, Al-Hamadi.

TWTD

Leejames99 added 17:59 - Dec 29 Blueboy1981 are you a Norwich fan or even a football fan? If you are a Town fan I can't fathom how you don't realise we achieved promotion to the Premiership a season or 2 before anticipated and would certainly as peodl8c business peeps of looked at relegation because there is a structure and very likely that the 3 who go up go down again so it us important to plan for that and recruit players who are young and bring value from top tier academies like Hutchison, Delap, Muric etc but also who have aced the Championship like Szmodicks, J Clarke etc to give us the best chance to return. As I've said this Jan we will recruit Prem experience and Championship flyers to give them a taste and I truely believe if we go down we will not only win the Championship but will have built a team with a winning mentality know the Prem and will then have the capacity like Brighton, Brentford, Forest etc. It makes no sense to change manager and I may add for who do you think is better than Mckenna right now? A journeyman manager? Like the players bought in we have a top young, successful Manager trained at the biggest clubs, it is the worst suggestion to think if we go down Mckenna and our new signings go, unless a huge offer with mass profit comes in they will go nowhere, and before they signed would be well aware of the project and relegation might be a possibility, look at Leicester the majority stayed aside Maddison, Dewsbury Hall and Harvey Barnes but they bought in Winks, Coady, Skipp, Ayew. Rome wasn't built in a day and nor was Ipswich Town. We have a megastar on the board, a great chairman and amazing manager. I'd love to know - A - Who do you think should go down if not us and B what anger you would bring in? It's ridiculous, was waste of time Leicester and Southampton changing Manager and Wolves I do think made right choice as most of their players are foreign and I think a foreign coach suits them better. Our league is Southampton, Everton, Leicester, Wolves and possibly Palace or West Ham that's it so who is going down out of those? It's far more appropriate to just enjoy this season, marvel at the Nnew stadium, get behind our team with no pressure and expect nothing this season and if we get 17th amazing but if not know we are fully prepared for the Championship, Portman Road will be rocking, the team will be winning, we are financially stable and have a young squad, ling term who can only get better including Muric. Enough silliness now and support the future of Ipswich Town and future fans, and the time it takes to get established in the prem. COYB

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blueboy1981 added 18:18 - Dec 29 Dissboyitfc - this season and where we are is, and has been no surprise to me to be honest, but I ‘hoped’ for more, the Premiership quality required was not there from the onset of the season. I left anything more to you Hissy Fit people, some predicting Top 6 finish ! - REMEMBER that ? - or conveniently not ? As for giving up my Season Ticket ? - why not give yours up ‘for not expecting more ‘ in so staying in the Premiership ? - you are a typical accepting loser, and find every excuse for so doing ! I am NOT, and desperately want to see our Premiership status remain. Having said that I fully aprecuate ‘where we have come from’ over recent seasons - but don’t agree with continually back. Only losers do that - Winners should never liok back, and Rest on their Past Laurels. Therein lies our inherent difference, so DON’T question my deserving of a Season Ticket, perhaps you should yours, instead of dwelling on the past decade and our more recent successful seasons. This is NOW ! Relegation - could well mean a Disaster for our Club. We will see ?

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blueboy1981 added 18:21 - Dec 29 …. should read :- ‘looking’ back !
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dirtydingusmagee added 19:42 - Dec 29 Blueboy now in his element⁸and hammering away at the keyboard and has a new ally in bluebullet , All three promoted teams are struggling as usual, Most realistic fans expected it to be the case .We are fighting the bottom group of teams not the whole league we are still in it .There are some ''supporters '' who are always waiting to turn hero 's to zero 's ,and all the positives quickly forgotten..I dont expect us to beat Chelsea ,and if we dont it wont be the end of the world,we will still be in with a fighting chance .In Blueboy's eyes im probably a happy clapper, but it wont bother me. We are halfway through season and have it all to play for.COYB .

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Dissboyitfc added 19:47 - Dec 29 Question for you blueboy are happy clappers the same as hissy fitters? Let me answer that, NO is the answer because you are the ultimate hissy fitter. You slammed KM and MA saying they didnt have what it takes to get in the right players to get us promoted, fast forward 2 years and they achieved it breaking record along the way! I suggest you read back some of your posts before denying this. Who said top 6? not me i said i fancied us to scrape survival in 17th place, still possible. And as for looking back, probably something you should avoid, you would be reminded of the egg on your face!( on so many occasions ) And please dont refer to yourself as a winner, if you had your way Evans would still own the club! Why dont you for a refreshing change, explain to us what KM and MA need to do to improve things? Give us your thoughts on what the team should be tomorrow, a way of defeating Chelsea, what formation should we play and what tactics? Who should we get in in the transfer window what positions are desperately needed? Also who would you get in to replace KM? I look forward to your answers! you clearly know more than the rest of us and not sharing makes it look like you really dont have a clue!!!

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Saxonblue74 added 19:55 - Dec 29 Top tip for 2025, use the ignore option. This site has become a much happier place for me and I only have 1 name on my list! Seriously considering my second right now!! Loving our time back with the big boys and proud of how we're acquitting ourselves. Half way point tomorrow and still very much in with a shout for survival.....I'll take that.
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blueboy1981 added 20:12 - Dec 29 Dissboyitfc …..,you are the epitome of the Ultimate Excuse Maker - you even state totally incorrect non facts of what I have ‘supposedly’ said previously said, which is your way of fabricating yet another excuse to suit your belief. Fact is, all I only ever said about Evans was that he saved the Club at a difficult time when it could have literally gone to the Wall, with apparently no other feasible interest capable of doing so. I appreciate the FACT he did so at the time ! - and so did others, but it didn’t make him the ideal Owner for the future of the Club. You’ll see what your Excuses, and condoning failure, can potentially do to this Club if Relegation happens, as looks increasingly likely … ?!! You won’t only have more Egg on your Face - it’ll swamp your entire HEAD ! Let’s hope it doesn’t happen - Shall we ?? Not long to wait, to see ! - in the meantime, Points instead of Excuses would not go amiss … !!!

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warfarinman69 added 20:28 - Dec 29 I think the reality is we were promoted one or two seasons too soon. We needed at least 3 more transfer windows in the Championship to build the squad. As a result we had to make too many signing last year. All isn't lost, but there is no indication we will become a yo-yo club. If we go down but sell and sign wisely and come back stronger. All this nonsense about McKenna is unhelpful. We have no devine right to be where we are, but let's support the team we have and as MA says "trust the process". I believe McKenna does...

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timbousa added 21:20 - Dec 29 This could be a special night against Chelsea. I think the performance against Arsenal would have brought back some confidence, at least for the defense. And today: Leicester lost. Southampton lost. West Ham lost. Everton lost. Wolves drew. What a chance to get back into contention again to get out of the bottom three. Heck, even a point will help. 'Could' is a big word though. I think it'll need Morsey, Cajuste and Phillips in central midfield where Chelsea are dominant normally. One gets the fun job of following Cole Palmer around the pitch. Agree with everyone who says Broadhead should start. He's got that ability to get the ball up field but a little more composure and experience than Hutch, who can get a run out after 60 minute (more or less). Chaplin to get the nod as well with Delap. That does leave the team a little short on the right flank though.

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shakytown added 03:15 - Dec 30 I just cannot fathom why some morons (and the odd Budgie ) think any team can compete in the premier league after 0ne transfer window. Give evryone a break from your petty crap and leave the real fans who know there is a plan for the future. Just look at the table 3 promoted teams in the bottom 3 again just shows how difficult it is to succeed nowadays. Get behind the manager and the players or piss off and support another club you losers and you just boring pathetic no- hopers should be embarrassed at your infantile comments.

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bobble added 06:39 - Dec 30 4_2 to town...
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Dissboyitfc added 08:17 - Dec 30 Blueboy Have a new name for you CLuelessboy. I wont have egg on my face if we go down, i said 17th in hope and as a realistic supporter, a supporter who knows that staying up would an amazing incredible achievement to add to Kms and the clubs historic rise through the divisions. You never once slagged off Evans and i repeat on more than occasion told Bleary if he wasnt happy with Evans he should find a buyer. In that same vein if you are not happy with whats going on you have to say what we need to do to improve things, so answer the questions from the previous post, failing to do so is making you look like you dont know anything useful and as you think you are the this super supporter you need to start talking about football, dont disapoint me again! Answer the questions!!!!!

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shakytown added 08:38 - Dec 30 Dissboy.He's a budgie troll. pathetic little nobody in other words.
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Ebantiass added 08:52 - Dec 30 Absolutely ridiclous all the in fighting amongst us Ipswich fans. We ALL love our club otherwise we would´nt post on here and try to get our viewpoints heard, that said all the name calling is boring and not necessary whatsoever. Nobody knows the club better than the gaffa and Ashton that have taken us on this fantastic journey thus far. I would find it suprising but not impossible if anyone seriously thought we would be top six this season after 20 plus years absence from the top flight. I would hate to see this site become like the rest of social media were are differences are highlighted more and more rather than the many many things we actually have in common. If someone believes that we will win the league so be it and those that see us going down so be it also, the world is full of people that see the cup as half full and those that see it as half empty. We all want the best for our club regardless of viewpoints and predictions. Todays game against a very very good chelski side will be hard, but if we set up like the arsenal game and keep it tight for a long while anything could happen.Good to see Burns is nowhere near the starting 11 ,poor sod he really is struggling and maybe Omari should start on the bench as he looks knackered. Fingers crossed COYBs

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dirtydingusmagee added 09:13 - Dec 30 Blueboy can you help me ,as a mere mortal happy clapper,i dont understand your statement 'almost certain possibility'' surely it can only be one or the other , certain or a possibility if its the latter then its a possibility we will stay up, so while there is a chance im happy, if we are relegated i will be disappointed but not surprised as we were favourites to do so . You are obviously in the other camp ,you will be disappointed and angry with manager and Ashton, despite all thats happened past two seasons.Blueboy WE ARE STILL in it and half season to go.

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BobbyBell added 10:06 - Dec 30 I cannot believe some of the idiotic comments on here. If at Christmas 2022 we'd have been offered 19th in the Premier league in two years time who would have believed it possible? Getting here was a massive achievement but establishing ourselves is even harder. If we yoyo as we build then fine but everything at this club has improved and will continue to improve.
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blueboy1981 added 11:45 - Dec 30 Dissboyitfc ….. as if I’d do that ? - for you to totally disagree with, and make up even more non-factual stories ! Anyway, Happy New Year - May isn’t too distant, let’s see where we are then, and again in August onwards.
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Europablue added 12:09 - Dec 30 Anyone paying attention will see other teams changing managers because the managers were not getting enough from the players at their disposal. You'd have to be intellectually challenged or a child to think that it's a good idea to change manager because Wolves have gone on a great run. We have no scope to find a better manager, and even if we brought in Moyes or someone like that, we have recruited for an entirely different type of manager. The expected position based on budget and squad depth is dead last. Maybe if we were hopeless and sitting on 6 points, we may have considered making a change, but we also have to think of the best manager to lead us next season. As a club, we can't be accused of lacking ambition. Does anyone really want us to be a club that only plans for the best case scenario?

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Eeyore added 13:43 - Dec 30 I think some supporters need to do what McKenna does very well - keep calm and be patient. I think that with Mckenna’s approach we have a decent chance of putting a run of wins together at some point. It probably won’t start with Chelsea though! He is brave enough to change tactics and formation. Bringing Woofenden back into a back three was a master stroke. How many people did we hear telling us Ipswich were getting thrashed by Arsenal? We are short of options up front but there are decent strikers that can come along in January. They won’t be proven premier league but will be someone like Stansfield, Latte Lath or Whittaker. We needed a player like Ogbene but sadly I can’t see that there will be any players like him available in January. In the midfield Morsy has been fantastic. Some fans don’t seem to watch him play they just look at his age and lack of premier league experience. Perhaps check out his passing stats instead. And no, he doesn’t just pass backwards. He also tracks back incredibly well. As well and perhaps better than Phillips currently does. The problem is that Morsy, Phillips and Cajuste all should be in the team. Playing all three is not an option though. I am certain we will see Morsy and Cajuste start with Phillips on for Cajuste at 60mins or perhaps even at 45. Some players can make up for a lack of quality with sheer hard work at determination. Chaplin, Szmodics and Harry C are good examples of this. Omari had a poor game against Arsenal but McKenna won’t drop him. He is more likely to have sorted Omari’s head out to try and get him back on track. McKenna has the culture of the squad just right and we will gain more points in the second half of the season than the first. Very important that the supporters stick with the team and we don’t have any booing if we are losing at half time.

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Europablue added 14:12 - Dec 30 dirtydingusmagee There is a big difference in a happy clapper in the Marcus Evans era and the present day. I went to my first match of the season at home against Newcastle, and it was painful to hear how negative some people in the stadium were. It's not an atmosphere that enables our players to perform at our best. It was great last season that when we made a mistake and let in a poor goal the crowd got right behind the team, and in many instances it just woke us up. This season there are much finer margins, blueboy, accepting low standards is loser behaviour, but panicking at the first sign of trouble is also loser mentality. There are all sorts of decisive owners like the Hull owner who sacked a manager for falling just on the wrong side of the line, and now instead of another tilt at the playoffs or better, Hull are looking odds on to be relegated. Has anyone else noticed how we have evolved. Just one example is how we are not giving away penalties like we did at the start of the season, you can see that it has been coached into the players to not make challenges in dangerous areas. This kind of thing looks obvious to us from the stands, but the pace of the game and the skill of the opposition changes how you approach the game. None of us are capable of what KM has achieved. We still have people in the stands shouting about playing it out from the back. We don't play like Russell Martin's Southampton, but we are still giving away goals because we are passing from the back because on balance KM has noticed that it works.

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algy added 15:08 - Dec 30 Europablue's first match of the season against Newcastle and thinks he has the right to criticise fans who probably have been there every game!
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Dissboyitfc added 16:08 - Dec 30 Thanks blueboy you have answered what i think was always obvious, you have no knowledge of the game, certainly not to the levels of which you profess to understand the game! I actually feel sorry for you blueboy, the last 2 seasons you have attacked supporters who were enjoying the football and achievements of KM and the players, if you cant enjoy whats been happening in recent seasons you really need to move on to something that will bring you some joy, life is too short. Blueboy which quotes are incorrect? ITs probably fair to say the premier league consists of 3 separate leagues, top 6 middle 6 and bottom 6, we as expected are in the bottom 6, not cut adrift but still in there fighting! why would anyone(with any understanding) think that we would should expect to be higher?

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Dissboyitfc added 16:10 - Dec 30 Eyesore great post, well thought and considered!
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blueboy1981 added 16:14 - Dec 30 Dissboyitfc …. Shake your Head ! - and for once make a Factual Statement. Although accepted it maybe asking / expecting too much, unfortunately !!
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Europablue added 17:42 - Dec 30 algy I've watched almost every match on full match replay. I know how players have played. I know the situation with Muric, but I just don't see what good it is to undermine his confidence and criticize him. However many matches people have been to this season, there is a certain type of "supporter" who will get on the players' backs. Boo them afterwards if you must, KM has earnt a bit of slack and deserves the benefit of the doubt and judgment that the players he is playing are the best in the circumstances.

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