Can Ipswich Town upset the Royals?

Article by e-Ipswich Town's Daryl Curle

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For the second season running, Ipswich Town begin their away campaign at the Madejski Stadium. Reading have enjoyed a strong start to their season, opening with a very respectable 2-2 draw at automatic promotion-chasing Wigan Athletic, in a match they dominated in both possession and shots on target. They then followed that result with a 3-1 home win against Newport County in the first round of the Capital One Cup. Out of the five goals scored so far, four have been scored in the final twenty minutes of play, meaning Town cannot afford to switch off when the final whistle is looming on Saturday. Ipswich will be looking to bounce back from their defeat in the cup to Crawley, a game in which an extra thirty minutes were played. Fortunately, only Christophe Berra, Luke Chambers and Elliot Hewitt played the full two hours of football, meaning the majority of the squad who won so well at home to recently-relegated Fulham last weekend will be fully rested for the match.

Ipswich were unlucky to lose a very close encounter between the teams last August, but did not have to wait too long for revenge, winning the reverse fixture 2-0 at Portman Road in January 2014. Since the sides last met, it can be argued that the Ipswich squad has become stronger, with Parr, Stewart, Bialkowski, Henshall, Bajner and Bru having signed this pre-season, whereas the Reading side could be considered much weaker. The Royals have lost Kaspars Gorkss, Mikele Leigertwood, Wayne Bridge and Jobi McAnuff, all seeing their contracts run out at the end of the previous season, with star striker Adam Le Fondre departing too, leaving for pastures new at Cardiff City. However, Reading have made some strong signings in pre-season, with new addition, Anton Ferdinand, in line to make his debut this weekend. The former Nottingham Forest striker, Simon Cox, and current Forest loanee, Jamie Mackie, are likely to be in and around the matchday squad too. Other Royals players to look out for include centre-back Alex Pearce and right-back Chris Gunter. Ex-Liverpool and Newcastle United player Danny Guthrie is also returning from injury and should feature at some point. Town look set to receive some positive news ahead of the weekend also, with Mick McCarthy hinting after the Fulham game that Paul Anderson and Jonathan Parr may be fit to feature this Saturday. David McGoldrick is also stepping up his comeback from injury, having slightly more than a half of competitive football under his belt, already having a goal in this season’s tally.

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The key battle for Town this Saturday afternoon will take place between the wide players of Reading and the full backs of Ipswich. Left-back, Tyrone Mings, although having played well last Saturday, needs to play well once more against another tricky opposing side for Town to stand a chance. Luke Chambers, as has been noted previously, is not a natural right-back, and having played three and a half hours football in the opening week of the season, I can see Nigel Adkins targeting the Town captain. As he is susceptible to both pace and skill, as was seen against the now Town player, Cameron Stewart, for both Leeds United and Charlton Athletic last season, I should expect to see either Jordan Obita or Nick Blackman lining up on the left wing to try and trouble Chambo. Fortunately for Ipswich, Gareth McCleary is still out injured, who really would have had the opportunity to upset the Tractor Boys’ defence. Any positive result would be fantastic for the Blues, to open the away account as quickly as possible, but also as fixtures away to Birmingham City and the East Anglian derby at home to Norwich City follow this clash, with points on the board possibly racking up quickly for Mick McCarthy and his Ipswich Town side.

Prediction: Reading 1 – 1 Ipswich Town

Key Player: Luke Chambers (Ipswich) – Should Chambo play well, it’s difficult to see how Reading will break down the Ipswich defence.

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