Ipswich Town will welcome Watford on Wednesday night with their promotion aspirations firmly within their control, despite the setback against rivals Norwich City. While the Tractor Boys currently hold the second spot in the Championship, Watford sits in 14th place, though they come into the match on a four-game unbeaten streak.
Following their exhilarating 3-2 triumph over Southampton, Ipswich Town entered their clash with rivals Norwich City as strong favorites, even after conceding in the first half. Despite high hopes for a comeback, Norwich impressively held off Ipswich’s attacks in the second half, securing a 1-0 victory.
At this juncture, Ipswich Town warrants minimal criticism given their impressive record of nine wins out of 11 matches and their destiny remaining in their own hands. However, their defeat at Carrow Road marked the first time since New Year’s Day in the Championship that they failed to find the net, prompting Kieran McKenna to assess areas for improvement.
While Ipswich’s schedule no longer includes any of the current top six teams, they face some challenging fixtures ahead, commencing with Watford on Wednesday.
In the long run, the Hornets team has significantly underperformed, only managing to win two out of their last 14 matches in the Championship. These victories, both by a narrow margin of 1-0, were achieved against relegated Rotherham United and struggling Birmingham City at their respective home grounds. However, there seems to be a positive shift in Watford’s performance under the interim leadership of Tom Cleverley. Since defeating Birmingham City, they have secured draws against Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion, and Preston North End, which has diminished the likelihood of them getting involved in a relegation battle. Despite having a nine-point advantage with five games remaining, including challenging away fixtures against Ipswich, Southampton, and Middlesbrough, the job is not yet completed mathematically.
McKenna is considering alterations to his Ipswich squad ahead of their upcoming match against Middlesbrough. Harry Clarke and Jeremy Sarmiento are likely to return, with Ali Al Hamadi potentially replacing Kieffer Moore. Meanwhile, Watford’s lineup is expected to remain largely unchanged, although Mileta Rajovic and Ismael Kone could feature in attack and midfield respectively.
