Last season's top two in the Championship lock horns at Portman Road for a Premier League clash on Saturday afternoon when Ipswich Town play host to Leicester City.
The Foxes clinched the second-tier title to secure promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt, finishing one point ahead of the Tractor Boys who are back in the big time for the first time in 22 years.
Match preview
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Ipswich are one of only three teams, along with Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are yet to win any of their opening nine matches in the Premier League this season, drawing four and losing five.
After drawing four successive games, the Tractor Boys have since lost each of their last three in the top flight against West Ham United, Everton and Brentford, losing 4-3 in an action-packed encounter away against the latter last weekend.
Kieran McKenna, who still has the backing of Ipswich's hierarchy despite a winless start, came away from the defeat at Brentford with "great pride" after commending the "fantastic" mentality of his players, and he has insisted that his team's performance showed that they are "back on the right track".
Before facing Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United either side of the international break, Ipswich will hope to pick up their first three points against another newly-promoted side in Leicester, whom they have failed to beat in their last four meetings.
However, the Tractor Boys - who sit 18th in the table - have won all three of their Premier League home games against the Foxes, winning 4-1 in January 1995, 2-0 in January 2001 and 2-0 in December 2001.
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Leicester began October with back-to-back Premier League wins over Bournemouth (1-0) and Southampton (3-2), but they ended the month with successive defeats against Nottingham Forest (3-1) and Manchester United (5-2), losing against the latter in the last 16 of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
Bilal El Khannouss and Conor Coady were both on the scoresheet for a much-changed Foxes outfit, but Ruud van Nistelrooy's ruthless Red Devils prevailed courtesy of some defensive mishaps from the visitors, two deflected goals and a "really poor linesman decision" for United's second goal, according to Steve Cooper.
The Leicester boss was booked for his protests on the touchline and is now banned for Saturday's trip to Ipswich. He also vented has frustration after the match, but has still taken positives from a "strange" game at Old Trafford.
Leicester will seek revenge against Man United when they return to the Theatre of Dreams for a top-flight battle on November 10, but they must first turn their attention to Saturday's clash at Portman Road where they will endeavour to claim their second consecutive away win and climb from their current position of 15th in the table.
The Foxes have reason to be optimistic of success this weekend as they have only lost one of their last nine league meetings with Ipswich (W5 D3), with both encounters in the Championship last season ending as 1-1 draws.
Team News
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Ipswich winger Chiedozie Ogbene, who was forced off on a stretcher against Brentford, has since undergone surgery on a torn Achilles and he will join Axel Tuanzebe (thumb), Jacob Greaves (hamstring) and Jack Taylor (muscle) in the treatment room.
Harry Clarke, who became just the second player in Premier League history to score an own goal, concede a penalty and get sent off in the same game last weekend, is suspended, while Omari Hutchinson (illness), Sam Morsy (hamstring), Ben Johnson (thigh) and Massimo Luongo (ankle) are all back in training and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Dara O'Shea could be tasked with moving over to right-back if Johnson is not fit to start, which would likely see Luke Woolfenden recalled to partner Cameron Burgess at centre-back, while Liam Delap and Wes Burns and Jack Clarke are also in contention to return to the first XI.
As for Leicester, backup goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk (ankle) is their only confirmed absentee as Hamza Choudhury (shoulder), Victor Kristiansen (groin) and Patson Daka (ankle) have all returned to training this week and will continue to be assessed.
Abdul Fatawu missed the midweek defeat to Man United with a groin injury and is a doubt for Saturday, so either Bobby De Cordova-Reid or El Khannouss could retain their place in the starting lineup.
After making nine changes to his side in midweek, Cooper is expected to recall several of his first-team stars this weekend including Mads Hermansen, Wout Faes, Ricardo Pereira, Harry Winks, Wilfred Ndidi, Facundo Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi, who scored against Ipswich in a 1-1 Championship draw at Portman Road last season.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Muric; O'Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Phillips, Cajuste; Burns, Chaplin, Szmodics; Delap
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Pereira, Okoli, Faes, Justin; Ndidi, Winks; De Cordova-Reid, Buonanotte, Mavididi; Vardy
We say: Ipswich Town 2-2 Leicester City
Neither side could be separated in two tight Championship encounters last season and another closely-fought contest could be in store this weekend, although goals are to be expected as the two teams have already conceded a combined 37 league goals this term.
Ipswich are desperate to pick up their first Premier League win of the campaign and will view this fixture as a good opportunity to do just that in front of their own fans, but we are backing Leicester to claim at least a share of the spoils against the Tractor Boys, who have already dropped 10 points from winning positions this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
