Match Day Thread Ipswich Town FC v Sunderland AFC – Saturday 13th January 2024 - KO 17:30

Sunderland travel to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town in the Championship.
Last time out Sunderland lost at home to Saudi FC and Ipswich beat Wimbledon.
The Black Cats are in 6th place and will want to put the last weeks events behind them and concentrate on moving higher up the league table.
Michael Beale kept an unchanged team for the FA cup tie and he might make a few changes after another week of training with the squad.
Sunderland long-term absentees Niall Huggins (knee) and Corry Evans (knee) are both out. Dennis Cirkin and Bradley Dack (hamstring) are also expected to remain sidelined.
Championship promotion chasers Ipswich Town held off a spirited 10-man AFC Wimbledon at the Cherry Red Records Stadium to move into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win. Nathan Broadhead’s shot took a wicked deflection off a defender for the opening goal.
The Tractor Boys currently sit in second place 10 points behind leaders Leicester and 15 points clear of Sunderland.
New signing Jeremy Sarmiento on loan from Brighton made his Ipswich debut at the weekend. Winger Kyle Edwards returned to the club following his loan at Oxford and midfielder Lewis Travis has also joined on loan from Blackburn. Ipswich have a fully fit squad apart from Hirst.
Mick Beale:
“It was horrible feeling for the fans on Saturday, but I hope this team can grow and give the fans many a happier day moving forward. With 20 games to go, we can be as optimistic as anybody of getting in those play-off positions and that's my sole focus now."
"We are competing for a play-off place and we're going to need to be united as a football club for that to happen. We've got the biggest away following in the Championship and we'll be counting on that at Ipswich this weekend."
Kieran McKenna:
"It was a tough cup tie, but it was always going to be. It was everything you expect from an FA Cup tie - it wasn't all our way.
"We certainly had chances to score more goals than we did, but we didn't get the two-goal margin to make it 100% comfortable until late in the game.
"We're coming out of a really busy period, but in the second half of the season the schedule isn't as intense in the Championship in terms of midweek games, so we welcome the extra game.
"We've had a couple of Premier League teams this year and that gave us some good challenges. A big draw would be nice. We want to go far in the competition if we can."

Match Appointments:
Referee: SAM ALLISON
Assistant Referees: Alex James & Robert Merchant
Fourth Official: John Busby

Team Lineups:
Sunderland AFC: (3-4-3) Patterson, Alese, Ballard, O’Nien, Hume, Neil, Ekwah, Pembele, Clarke, Pritchard Rusyn.

Subs: Bishop, Triantis, Seelt, Mayenda, Aouchiche, Ba, Rigg, Jobe, Bennette.
Injured: Evans, Cirkin, Huggins, Dack, Roberts

Ipswich (4-2-3-1) Walton, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Humphreys, Travis, Taylor, Hutchinson, Harness, Broadhead, Ladapo.
Subs: Burns, Chaplin, Ball, Slicker, Jackson, Sarmiento, Aluko, Luongo, Buabo,
Injured: Hirst.
Suspended: Morsy

Betting Odds:
Sunderland 13/5 Ipswich evens Draw 5/2

Prutton Predicts: 0-1

My two pence:
Back to the Championship and a tough game against a strong Ipswich side.
Hopefully we can bounce back from the disappointment last weekend and get a result against our promotion rivals.
I'm always a bit wary when David Prutton thinks we'll win but I’m going for a 2-2 draw.

Presser:

Live Stream:
This game is live on Sky Sports Football from 5pm

Ha’way the Lads

 

Very, very important game. Ipswich haven’t won in their last 5 in the league but this will still be tough. I’d take a draw but I really wanna see a positive performance.

 

Great thread as ever - massive game still trying to get a couple of tickets.

 

The important games are back after last week's distraction. Thanks again @RTB

I like the look of your team, has a feeling of getting after them and pushing them back high up the pitch, although I wonder if Pembele is fit enough to start?

At least the lads have had a week since the last game to recover and start to take on board any new ideas the coaches may have. I'm hoping one of them is playing at a quicker tempo

 

Take a point but want to see a much more assured and positive performance. Ipswich are bang out of form and we have had a full week on the training pitch so should see some improvements.

 

We should have beaten these the first game but they got lucky imo, hoping to put it right on Saturday.

 

As much as there has been some negativity lately I think we will be positive in this game. I would like to see us moving the ball with a quicker tempo and with purpose so I will go for a away win 1-2

 

My theory of the team winning away often lose the return fixture and our record at Portman Road isn't shabby, so I hope that the lads step up and calm a lot of fans down.
Good display and MB making the right decisions is all we ask. Great thread again HTL.

 

Snap your hands off for a point, they’re in poor form so I’d like to see us go for them at some point, positive front football is us at our best

 

Interesting team and formation you've gone for there @RTB

Morsy is suspended, which is a massive blow for them. Hirst is out for the season.

Also. Matete can be taken off the injured list, he's back in training and available for selection

I think it'll be 2-2

 

I've just found two for you if you need them

 

a point would be a grand result. Ipswich out of form but I have so much respect for what theyve done

we'll have had a week on training ground, but so will they. so a point good result for me.

much more important for me is the performance. Beale has shown some good minor positive changes and I hope to see more of them. But when Beale has got it wrong hes got it horribly wrong. In theory there should be less chance of that happening after a week of training.

 

Great thread as always keep up the good work please - now the match think we need to get at them don’t think pembele will start looked a long way off we will probably see a couple of fresh faces,I fancy 2-1 for the lads and hopefully mr Beale can keep his canny league start going COME ON

 

Thanks once more RTB for another perfect MDT , I like your team very much, but I would prefer to have Seelt in the starting eleven in place of Pembele to curb there threat out wide and for Pritch to sit behind Clarke and Rusyn in the starting eleven, hoping they would use the extra space to good effect. A win would be massive but a point would be fine, neither will be easy, but we can beat anybody on our day in this league. OaU.

 

Draw wouldn't be terrible here.

 

Cheers again RTB. Would be happy with a point, as others have said I'm hoping to see a bit more evolution after a week on the training pitch with Beale. Fingers crossed for a positive reaction to Saturday

 

I thought they were better than us personally. A lot more organised for starters.

 

fair enough I just seen them get a very lucky winner in what was a close game with a newly promoted team.

 

We certainly had chances but failed to finish (shock )

 

When is the press conference?