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Ipswich logo
Championship
Aug 18, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
Burnley logo

2-0

Sears (66'), McGoldrick (71')
FT(HT: 0-0)

Preview: Ipswich Town vs. Burnley

Sports Mole previews the midweek Championship match between Ipswich Town and Burnley at Portman Road.

Newly-relegated Burnley will continue to look for their first win of the new Championship season when they travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

Both sides are unbeaten in their first two fixtures of the new campaign though, with the Tractor Boys sitting seventh in the table, and Burnley in 13th.


Ipswich Town

Manager of Ipswich Town Mick McCarthy looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and Ipswich Town at Griffin Park on August 8, 2015© Getty Images

Ipswich Town picked up their first league win of the season at the weekend, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Portman Road, having been held to a draw by Brentford on the opening day of the new season.

Manager Mick McCarthy has praised Freddie Sears for his performance in the win over the Owls, with the 25-year-old scoring the equaliser before Tommy Smith's second-half winner.

The win follows a 2-1 victory over Stevenage in the League Cup last week, leaving the side unbeaten in three competitive fixtures this season.

One thing McCarthy will be keen to see his side secure sooner rather than later is a clean sheet, as the team have conceded three goals in their first two league outings; only four teams have let in more in the Championship. However, Brentford are the only side that have scored more goals than Ipswich.

Ongoing transfer rumours appear not to have been an on-field distraction, despite the East Anglian side continually being linked with Jordan McGhee of Hearts, with the latest reports suggesting that the club is also keen to bring in a new goalkeeper before the transfer window closes.

When McCarthy took charge of Ipswich in November 2012, his first home win was over Burnley, giving the club their first victory at their home ground in eight months.

Recent form: WLDLDW
Recent form (all competitions): DLDDWW


Burnley

Burnley manager Sean Dyche on May 9, 2015© Getty Images

Burnley will be aiming for their first win since returning to the second tier after a one-season stay in the Premier League, having been held to draws in their opening two fixtures of the 2015-16 campaign.

Sean Dyche's men needed a late goal to wrap up a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City at Turf Moor on Saturday, having let in a late equaliser in their match against Leeds United in the opening fixture.

The manager was not happy with the referee on Saturday, claiming that the officials got two penalty decisions wrong, and believing that his side should have secured the win.

The stalemate with Birmingham came just a couple of days after the team suffered a somewhat surprise elimination from the Capital One Cup, losing 1-0 to League One side Port Vale.

While Burnley will have been hoping for more than two points out of a possible six at this stage, only one side in the Championship has a 100% record so far, leaving the Clarets just two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough.

Dyche has said that Burnley will be adding more players before the end of the transfer window, but they have already completed the signing of Rouwen Hennings from German club Karlsruher over the weekend.

Recent form: WWWLLL
Recent form (all competitions): LWWDLD


Team News

Kevin Bru for Ipswich Town on February 14, 2015© Getty Images

Neither side have reported any new injuries following their weekend action, but with them both playing a third match in eight days, changes can be expected.

Ipswich will still be without midfielder Kevin Bru after he suffered a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, which is expected to keep him out for the rest of the month, while Jonathan Parr and Teddy Bishop are also struggling with similar injuries.

Dyche may consider handing a debut to Hennings, who signed too late to appear on Saturday. The German scored 17 goals in 27 appearances in 2. Bundesliga last season, but still needs to finalise his international clearance before he can appear for his new side.

Matt Lowton and Fredrik Ulvestad, who have shin and ankle injuries respectively, are back in training for the visitors, but this fixture comes too soon for them, while Ashley Barnes, Jason Gilchrist and Daniel Lafferty are all long-term absentees.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Douglas, McGoldrick, Sears, Pitman

Burnley possible starting lineup:
Heaton, Darikwa, Duff, Keane, Mee, Boyd, Jones, Arfield, Taylor, Vokes, Jutkiewicz


Head To Head

When the teams last met in the 2013-14 season, Burnley secured 1-0 wins at home and away, with Scott Arfield and Michael Kightly scoring the goals for the Clarets. In fact, Burnley have won their last three matches against Ipswich, and four of their last six.

This is a fixture that yields an occasional red card, with three fixtures in a run of seven from 2007 to 2012 resulting in one of the two sides finishing a player short.

In 40 previous meetings between these two sides, Ipswich narrowly have the edge, winning 17 times and drawing on 10 occasions, while Burnley have 13 victories.


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Ipswich Town 1-1 Burnley

Burnley have had the measure of Ipswich in their most recent meetings, and will surely be keen to make it four wins in a row. However, the home side have made the better start to the season, and have the advantage of playing in front of their own fans, so this should be a close encounter.



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Manager of Ipswich Town Mick McCarthy looks on during the pre-season friendly match between Ipswich Town and West Ham United at Portman Road on July 16, 2014
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