Ipswich Town face a tough test this Saturday when they travel to the Hawthorns to face off against West Brom, Carlos Corberan’s Baggies in the promotion hunt much like Ipswich but for the playoff positions as opposed to the automatic spots.
The Tractor Boys will hope they can add another win to their sequence of results in November, picking up back-to-back draws before the 3-2 win versus Swansea City last time out.
Kieran McKenna could fancy freshening his first team for their trip to the West Midlands, with a congested fixture schedule awaiting the Tractor Boys in December very soon.
With that in mind, here’s how McKenna’s line up could look this weekend…
1
GK – Vaclav Hladky
Hladky will be Ipswich’s goalkeeper of choice for the West Brom away game, the Czech shot-stopper present in all 16 games this season in the league.
Despite the Suffolk-based club leaking 21 goals from 16 games played, Hladky remains McKenna’s preferred goalkeeper and will retain his spot against the Baggies.
2
RB – Harry Clarke
The former Arsenal youth product has become an established first-team presence under McKenna, which should see him start at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
Always wanting the ball down the channels with an average of 62.5 touches per 90 minutes this season, according to Sofascore, Clarke is as important as Leif Davis is at right-back in how his team play out from defence and begin attacking moves.
3
CB – Luke Woolfenden
Much like Clarke next to him in defence, Luke Woolfenden is a starter week in, week out for Ipswich in the second tier under McKenna.
Recovering the ball an average of 6.5 times per game this season, the lofty centre-back is key for Ipswich when he recycles the ball and then plays it to the more forward-thinking presences in the team who then kickstart an attack.
4
CB – Cameron Burgess
Signed from Accrington Stanley on the eve of Ipswich’s 2020-21 League One campaign, Cameron Burgess has been a regular in the first-team ranks ever since in Suffolk.
The two-time Australia senior international has played every minute of Ipswich’s last three contests after being absent from the squad for the Plymouth Argyle home win, and should start again at the weekend when his team travel to West Brom.
5
LB – Leif Davis
Leif Davis is arguably the man making the Tractor Boys tick going forward, despite the former Leeds United man playing in defence and the plethora of attacking talent at Ipswich’s disposal away from him.
His performances on the pitch see him push so far forward to the point where the 23-year-old is positioned like a winger for his team – it has worked too with Davis notching up a staggering ten assists already this season from 15 second-tier matches played.
6
CM – Sam Morsy
Sam Morsy will not be dropped from the Ipswich first team any time soon, the Tractor Boys captain is loved and adored by the Portman Road masses and presumably his boss who continues to field him.
Scoring versus Rotherham United in Ipswich’s last away game – a collector’s item for the Egyptian midfielder who isn’t known for his prowess in front of goal – he will revert back to being a defensive midfielder for his team against West Brom to thwart the likes of opposing midfielder Alex Mowatt centrally.
7
CM – Jack Taylor
The first notable call McKenna could make is sticking by Jack Taylor instead of starting Massimo Luongo.
Taylor was dubbed “excellent” by his manager after netting against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup, prior to scoring an equally breathtaking strike against Swansea.
The 25-year-old’s ability to conjure up a beauty from nowhere could be an effective weapon when coming up against a resilient and dogged West Brom team, another wonder goal from the 6 foot 1 machine could make all the difference in a potentially tight affair.
8
RM – Wes Burns
McKenna could decide to start experience over youthful exuberance at the Hawthorns on Saturday, Wes Burns eager for a first-team return with Chelsea loanee Omari Hutchinson likely to be sacrificed to make way for the Welshman.
Burns had a successful 26-minute cameo against Swansea to brush off any cobwebs after a shoulder knock had kept him out of the side, dragging one shot wide, but looking back to full sharpness.
If he is performing back to the peak of his powers versus West Brom, Burns could be the difference maker as a full-throttle option down the flanks to come out on top up against a tough West Brom side.
9
CAM – Conor Chaplin
Chaplin hasn’t let the step-up to the Championship faze him one bit, consistently popping up with vital goals this season for the Tractor Boys – scoring six times in the league to date, all whilst playing in a second strike role behind the lone forward.
The ex-Portsmouth man will be hungry for more goals up against West Brom, hoping he can add another important strike to his back catalogue.
10
LM – Nathan Broadhead
Let go by boyhood club Everton permanently this summer, the Toffees are now, no doubt, regretting their decision to offload their former Academy prodigy.
Broadhead has been a goal machine down the channels for Ipswich so far this campaign, scoring six goals which means he’s tied with Chaplin at the top of goalscoring charts for the Suffolk-based club this season.
The 24-year-old will start against West Brom this Saturday, looking forward to potentially turning his marker inside out and netting another goal at the Hawthorns.
11
ST – George Hirst
The forward players at Ipswich really do pick themselves at this moment in time, all of the attackers on-song for McKenna’s men which has led to them scoring a league-best 36 goals in the second tier so far.
Hirst hasn’t been quite as potent in front of goal as Broadhead and Chaplin, but his role as provider in helping his team score anyway when he does miss chances shouldn’t go understated.
The 24-year-old has four goals and four assists to his name this campaign, eager to add more to his tally against Corberan’s challengers.
Predicted Ipswich Town XI vs West Brom in full – GK – Hladky; RB – Clarke, CB – Woolfenden, CB – Burgess, LB – Davis; CM – Morsy, CM – Taylor; RM – Burns, CAM – Chaplin, LM – Broadhead; ST- Hirst
