Currently fighting at opposite ends of the Championship table, two of the second tier's newly-promoted sides will meet at Portman Road on Saturday as Ipswich Town entertain Plymouth Argyle.

The hosts currently sit second with 31 points from their opening 10 games, while their visitors climbed to 18th place with a crucial midweek win.

Match preview

Since winning promotion from League One last season, Ipswich Town have enjoyed a dream start to life back in the second tier under the management of Kieran McKenna, as they currently occupy second spot with 31 points on the board from their opening 12 outings.

In those matches, the Tractor Boys have managed 10 wins while only suffering a single defeat, with only league leaders Leicester City having netted more than their 26 goals and conceded fewer than the 13 goals they have shipped, while they have already built up a nine-point lead over third-placed Leeds United.

That is despite McKenna's side having played a game fewer than every other team in the top half of the Championship, as their scheduled return to action after the recent international break away at Rotherham United last Friday was postponed due to the effects of Storm Babet.

Instead, the Suffolk outfit returned on Wednesday with the aim of making it three consecutive three-point hauls, and they succeeded in a trip to Bristol City, as Nathan Broadhead netted the only goal of the game in the 16th minute.

Now with a healthy lead in the automatic promotion places and a five-point gap up to runaway leaders Leicester, while holding a game in hand on all of their top-six rivals, Ipswich will aim to make it four Championship wins in a row and six victories in seven home outings when they meet the side who pipped them to the League One title last time around.

Indeed, Saturday's visitors surpassed the 100-point mark to top England's third tier, three points ahead of Ipswich Town, despite suffering a defeat to the Tractor Boys at Home Park and playing out a 1-1 draw at Portman Road.

Steven Schumacher's side have certainly experienced a tougher start to the Championship campaign, though, and they find themselves fighting around the bottom end of the division, as they headed into the October international break with 11 points on the board from 11 games having managed three victories alongside six defeats.

On their return to action last Saturday, the Pilgrims were able to take a creditable point from a goalless draw away at West Bromwich Albion, before hosting fellow promoted side Sheffield Wednesday in midweek and ending their four-match winless run in style.

After the contest remained goalless for almost the entirety of the first half, Mustapha Bundu opened the scoring with a free kick and Morgan Whittaker quickly added a second on the stroke of the interval, before Ryan Hardie sealed a 3-0 victory with his side's third in the 76th minute.

Such a result saw Plymouth Argyle quickly climb to 18th spot and six points clear of the bottom three, and now with just a three-point gap to the top half, they will look for a first away win of the season at the seventh time of asking to further improve their standing.

Team News

Ipswich Town continue to deal with several enforced absentees through injury, as winger Wes Burns is sidelined alongside forward Freddie Ladapo, midfielder Lee Evans and defender Axel Tuanzebe, although goalkeeper Christian Walton has returned to contention after his long layoff.

He will hope to come back into the starting XI on Saturday although he may have to wait with Vaclav Hladky having impressed while deputising in their first 12 league outings, while Brandon Williams, Luke Woolfenden, Christian Burgess and Leif Davis should line up in an unchanged back four.

Ahead of the midfield pairing of Massimo Luongo and Sam Morsy, there is competition for attacking spots in their 4-2-3-1 shape, although Nathan Broadhead and Conor Chaplin should certainly keep their places in the supporting trio, having netted six and five league goals this term respectively, while George Hirst should again get the nod to lead the line, leaving Kayden Jackson, Marcus Harness and Omari Hutchinson to fight for the right wing spot in Burns's absence.

Plymouth Argyle should also steer clear of making many changes after their midweek 3-0 victory, with Saxon Earley, Brendan Galloway and Callum Wright remaining the only enforced absentees through injury.

Schumacher has a dilemma in attack, with Mustapha Bundu hoping to again start up front after opening the scoring on Wednesday, although Ryan Hardie has spearheaded the front line for the majority of the campaign and will hope to come back in from the outset after netting his sixth league goal of the season in their 3-0 win.

Whichever striker is preferred will again be flanked by danger men Bali Mumba and Morgan Whittaker, who moved onto five goals for the term against Sheffield Wednesday, while at the other end of the pitch, first-choice goalkeeper Michael Cooper will again start between the sticks, having recently returned from a long-term injury which ruled him out since February.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Williams, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson, Chaplin, Broadhead; Hirst

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Edwards, Scarr, Gibson, Kesler-Hayden; Randell, Houghton, Azaz; Whittaker, Hardie, Mumba

We say: Ipswich Town 2-0 Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth certainly showed last season that they can compete with Kieran McKenna's Ipswich side, but the hosts have stepped up to a new level this term, and we cannot envisage the Pilgrims derailing their momentum, particularly at Portman Road.


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