Ipswich Town are one of eight teams who are fighting for the final playoff spot. Doncaster Rovers are one of eight teams who find themselves battling relegation.

Such is the nature of the Championship this season that very few teams find themselves with little to play for with five games of the season remaining.

With three of the current top six still to play as they look to extend the four-point gap between them and the drop zone, this is arguably a more important game for visiting Donny, who have the worst away record in the division.

They might have hoped to have secured survival already, but consecutive home defeats to Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers have allowed the teams below them to pull them back into the dogfight.

Ipswich also have a difficult run-in, with trips to nearly-promoted Burnley and in-form Watford on the horizon, so will have identified these as three crucial points if they are to sneak into the playoffs.

The Tractor Boys are two points behind sixth-placed Reading, and could yet be leapfrogged by teams such as Blackburn Rovers and Bournemouth, who are building momentum at quite a pace.

Mick McCarthy is still without 14-goal top scorer David McGoldrick, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season, but the contribution of loanee Jonny Williams has helped fill that attacking void.

The Crystal Palace youngster should play behind lone striker Daryl Murphy on Saturday in what could be an unchanged Ipswich team, although Tyrone Mings is on standby for fitness doubt Aaron Cresswell.

Donny manager Paul Dickov is without three defenders, with Bongani Khumalo, Rob Jones and Jamie McCombe all in the treatment room, but he still has plenty of Premier League experience to choose from.

Two of Abdoulaye Meite, Gabriel Tamas and Lucas Neil will be paired together at centre-back, while, ahead of them, Mark Duffy could replace forward Chris Brown to form a five-man midfield.

Recent form

Ipswich: WLDWWL

Doncaster: LLWLWD

Possible starting lineups

Ipswich: Gerken; Chambers, Berra, Smith, Cresswell; Anderson, Skuse, Hyam, Hunt; Williams; Murphy

Doncaster: Johnstone; Quinn, Tamas, Neil, Husband; Duffy, Keegan, Coppinger, Wellens, Cotterill; Sharp

Sports Mole says: 2-0