In their second of two friendlies taking place during a foreign training camp, Ipswich Town pit their wits against Hoffenheim at the Kufstein Arena in Austria on Saturday.
The contest comes just one day after the Tractor Boys clash with the Germans' Bundesliga rivals Borussia Monchengladbach, handing head coach Kieran McKenna a handful of selection dilemmas.
Match preview
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With the Portman Road powers-that-be hard at work behind the scenes in the transfer market, McKenna's on-field troops have experienced a mixed bag of friendly results so far as they prepare for a long-awaited return to the big time of English football.
After coming away from a clash with Shakhtar Donetsk as 1-0 victors, Ipswich tested their mettle against Fortuna Dusseldorf on July 27, where Marcus Harness responded to Danny Schmidt's fifth-minute opener for the German second-tier side.
However, just nine moments after Harness got the Tractor Boys back on level terms, Tim Rossmann restored Dusseldorf's advantage, one that McKenna's men could not wipe out for a second time in the closing 30 minutes at Portman Road.
While the 15,000-strong crowd therefore went home despondent, McKenna labelled the scrap a "useful workout" for his players, who now visit two countries in as many days with their battle against Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday in the German municipality of Heimstetten.
A little over 24 hours would have passed by the time Ipswich kick off again in their weekend encounter with Hoffenheim, which precedes a closing home friendly against OGC Nice on August 10 for the Premier League returnees.
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Similarly to Ipswich, who have already tested their mettle against German opposition in pre-season, Hoffenheim battled the Tractor Boys' previous Championship foes in the shape of Norwich City on Tuesday, where a quartet of goals were shared around.
Ihlas Bebou and Marius Bulter propelled Pellegrino Matarazzo's crop into a two-goal advantage at the break, by which point the German side had lost David Jurasek to a nasty arm injury, and the German outfit succumbed to a captivating Canaries fightback in the second period.
Jonathan Rowe and Brad Hills clawed Norwich back into the contest and deny Matarazzo's men a third friendly win on the spin, but the result paled into insignificance for Hoffenheim due to Jurasek's injury, which he has since undergone surgery on.
Die Kraichgauer had put seven past Astoria Walldorf and eased past Elversberg 3-1 before sharing the exhibition spoils with Norwich, who represent the first of three successive English foes that Hoffenheim will face to close out pre-season.
Once Saturday's Ipswich battle is a thing of the past, Hoffenheim finalise their friendly preparations at home to Fulham on August 10, which comes six days before they commence their quest for DFB-Pokal glory against Wurzburger Kickers on August 16.
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Team News
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While it remains to be seen which players McKenna picks for Friday and Saturday's friendlies, Nathan Broadhead will not be among them, as the attacker is confirmed to be facing a couple of months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
In addition, Wes Burns hurt his ankle in the recent loss to Dusseldorf, plunging his participation into serious doubt, while Ecuadorian Copa America quarter-finalist Jeremy Sarmiento is yet to return from his continental exploits either.
In brighter news, the Tractor Boys confirmed the signing of left-back Conor Townsend from West Bromwich Albion on Thursday, and the experienced defender could earn his first-team debut in the Monchengladbach or Hoffenheim contests.
Meanwhile, Hoffenheim boss Matarazzo will of course be without the services of forearm fracture victim Jurasek, who at least looked in good spirits after his successful surgery, while 19-year-old midfielder Umut Tohumcu hurt his thigh in the same game and is missing too.
Finn Ole Becker (knee), Ozan Kabak (ACL) and Stanley Nsoki (ankle) welcome the duo into the Hoffenheim treatment room, while Oliver Baumann, Florian Grillitsch and Maximilian Beier are yet to return from their Euro 2024 exploits.
The latter continues to be linked with a marquee Premier League move to either Chelsea, Liverpool or Aston Villa, but as things stand, Hoffenheim are yet to receive an acceptable offer.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Muric; Johnson, Woolfenden, Greaves, Townsend; Taylor, Luongo; Harness, Chaplin, Ladapo; Hirst
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Philipp; Akpoguma, Szalai, Stach; Kaderabek, Promel, Geiger, Bulter, Bruun Larsen; Kramaric, Bebou
We say: Ipswich Town 1-2 Hoffenheim
While Hoffenheim may still be reeling a tad from Jurasek's horror injury, the Bundesliga outfit pack a mean attacking punch, while Ipswich have been hit with a couple of attacking woes out wide.
As a result, we can envisage another narrow loss for McKenna's men in Austria, although much will depend on the players that the Tractor Boys boss picks for this contest and the Monchengladbach meeting.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
