Midfielder Ian Westlake remains Town's only injury concern ahead of Sunday's live Sky game against Sunderland (KO noon, Sky Sports One). The Clacton-based youngster picked up a knee injury in Monday's defeat to Wolves.

Town will give Westlake a fitness test on Saturday before deciding whether or not to rule him out.

If the 21-year-old fails to make it, Kevin Horlock looks likely to take over at central midfield. That could open up a place on the bench for French loanee Jimmy Juan, who scored his first goal in a Town shirt for the reserves on Thursday.

Central defender Drissa Diallo continued his return from the hamstring injury which has kept him out of action since before Christmas, but the end of the season may come too soon for the Guinean international to make a first team comeback.

However, with David Unsworth's loan from Portsmouth scheduled to end after the Brighton match, Diallo might find he is required if the Blues are in the play-offs.

The play-offs are not something on minds at Portman Road at present however, and manager Joe Royle says his side would still not be out of the automatic promotion picture even if they lose to Sunderland and Wigan win at Leicester on Saturday: "It is not a must-win game on Sunday. We could lose and then win our final three games and still go up automatically.

"We had a poor game at Sunderland in the corresponding fixture and a bad 20 minutes against Wolves on Monday. Both games were shown on TV so armchair viewers may have a false opinion about us.

"We have a chance to put that right on Sunday. The players were quiet on Wednesday, but they are back to their normal selves."

Royle suspects that the Black Cats will see a victory over Town as ending the Blues' challenge: "It will more or less see us off as far as they are concerned. They are a well-organised side and gain away wins by attacking on the break.

"They have a solid back four of internationals at one level or another and two good goalkeepers."

Royle will have to decide whether to play the 4-4-2 formation which worked well at home to Derby recently or the 3-5-2 which saw the Blues hammer Nottingham Forest 6-0 but which failed so spectacularly in the early stages of Monday's defeat to Wolves.

If in 4-4-2 mode, Royle will recall Darren Currie to the starting line-up in place of Matt Richards, who would get the nod as left wing-back in a 3-5-2.

Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy, perhaps employing a bit of psychology, says Town could be anxious about getting a result on Sunday: "This is a home game for Ipswich and there's a lot of pressure on them to win.

"And unless they get off to a good start, they are playing well and the crowd are up and behind them, it can make things quite difficult.

"We've got to go there and make sure they have a tough time of it. Ipswich know that if we win on Sunday then the promotion race is virtually over. That will put a bit more pressure on them - but I don't think it eases any on us!

"There's no getting away from the fact that this is a significant game and I think it will be a tense one."

McCarthy's main selection problem remains his goalkeeping crisis. First-choice Mart Poom is still recovering from a knee operation, while replacement Thomas Myhre strained a side muscle in last week's defeat to Reading.

The former Everton man appears to be losing his fitness fight and McCarthy may find he has to pick from the soon-to-be-released Michael Ingram and U18 international Ben Alnwick.

Ingram, 24, made his debut as a sub in the Reading game, taking over from Myhre at half-time but has been told he can leave the Stadium of Light at the end of the season. However, the Northern Irishman has made 62 senior appearances, mainly while out on loan at various clubs including Wrexham, York, Darlington, Stoke, Stockport and Carlisle.

Ingram has a minor fitness problem of his own, having ricked his neck when the team bus lurched on the way back from a reserve game earlier this week.

Alnwick, who was 18 in January, is yet to make a senior appearance but is highly rated on Wearside. However, the stopper, a regular on the bench for Sunderland this season, has had a turbulent week after his best friend was killed in a car crash and may not be in the right frame of mind to make his debut.

Sunderland also have an injury worry over former Mansfield midfielder Liam Lawrence who has a groin problem, while Scottish international striker Kevin Kyle's progression towards full fitness was halted last night when he was forced off in a reserve game with a groin problem.

Irish midfielder Colin Healy is still on the sidelines after suffering a broken ankle in December.

Former Blue Marcus Stewart is a likely starter and will receive a warm welcome from his old fans.

Sunday's referee is Premiership official Steve Bennett from Orpington. Bennett has shown 131 yellow and six red cards in 35 games this season and officiated Town's home FA Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers.

Town are expecting a sell-out crowd for what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the season.

Squad: Davis, Price, Wilnis, Unsworth, Richards, De Vos, Naylor, Magilton, Miller, Westlake, Currie, Horlock, Bent, Kuqi, Couñago, Scowcroft.

Photo: Action Images

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