Temporary Leicester City manager Dave Bassett will be without Jason Wilcox, Ian Walker, Peter Canero and Lee Morris when the Blues travel to the Walkers Stadium on Tuesday night. Bassett and Howard Wilkinson have assumed control of the Foxes since Micky Adams's resignation.

Wilcox damaged his knee in the weekend match at Coventry, while Canero has what appears to be a hernia problem. Walker and Morris are both close to returns but won't make the Town game.

Better news for Bassett and Wilkinson is that Danny Tiatto, one of Joe Royle's Manchester City squad, is back from suspension. The highly experienced management team will also be pleased that Scot Gemmill is OK after receiving a blow to the ankle on Saturday.

Bassett says he expected Town to be amongst the division's front-runners: "Ipswich are up at the top of the table and that doesn't surprise me. At the start of the season I thought that they would be one of the teams up in the top six challenging for promotion.

"They have got an experienced management team in Joe Royle and Willie Donachie who have been around the block and know what they are doing. It doesn't surprise me that they are doing as well as they are, but having said that these are the games that we have got to win.

"Ipswich are certainly a team who pass the ball well and they have got some creative players. They've got one or two youngsters up front who have managed to score goals, so they've got quite a nice blend.

"They have got Shefki Kuqi who is a tall sort of Paul Dickov type player. They have also got some good youngsters like Dean Bowditch, Ian Westlake and Darren Bent. They have replaced the stars that have gone like Darren Ambrose. So it doesn't surprise me that they are doing OK.

"I am looking forward to the game. We are at home and you have to make the advantage count. I know that it hasn't particularly helped us this year but as far as I am concerned there is no hoodoo and no sort of exorcism that needs to be done on the ground. We have just got to get on with it and play.

"The players have just got to try and relax. I can't force them to do that. If there was a pill I would give it to them right now and it would be easy. If they follow what we want to do and they go out with the enthusiasm and the determination like they did on Saturday then they are on their way."

Town's only previous visit to the Walkers Stadium, two seasons ago, ended with the Blues scraping a 2-1 win in the last six minutes with Darren Ambrose netting the winner.

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