Ipswich Town (H) | Match Preview
The Game
Argyle v Ipswich Town. Home Park. Saturday, 2 March. 3pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Ipswich Town are third in the Championship, with a serious chance of achieving a second straight promotion and reaching the Premier League. Ipswich came second behind Argyle in League One last season, and have exceeded all expectations by getting 72 points from their 34 points so far.
Ipswich went four games without a win at the end of January and beginning of February, drawing games with Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion, and losing to Preston North End. They also lost 2-1 at home to Maidstone in the Emirates FA Cup.
However, town have hit back with four consecutive wins, scoring 13 goals into the bargain. Wins at Millwall (4-0) and Swansea City (2-1) were followed by home victories against Rotherham United (4-3) and Birmingham City (3-1).
The Gaffer
Kieran McKenna was in the youth ranks at Tottenham Hotspur and represented Northern Ireland Under-21s, but his career was ended by injury at the age of 22. Concentrating on coaching, McKenna rose through the coaching ranks at Spurs, becoming Under-18s manager.
He left to take the same job at Manchester United, and would in time be promoted to the first-team coaching staff, eventually becoming assistant manager to Jose Mourinho. He served as a coach under several United bosses, before accepting his first managerial job, with Ipswich, in December 2021, with Ipswich.
He steered his new team to 11th by season's end, then to automatic promotion last season.
The Squad
Joint-top goalscorer, Nathan Broadhead, has been ruled out of the game at the weekend, as has fellow attacker Wes Burns. Both have been regular starters for Ipswich this season.
On 11 goals, level with Broadhead, is Conor Chaplin (above). Chaplin spent many years at Portsmouth, for whom he played over 100 times, but mostly as a substitute. He moved to Coventry City, then to Barnsley, before heading to Ipswich in the summer of 2021.He has started 33 of Ipswich's 34 games, and has scored in two of his last three.
Goalkeeper Vaclav Hladký has played in all of Ipswich's league games. From Brno, in Czechia, Hladký played for hometown team, and for Slovan Liberec, before leaving his home country to play for St Mirren in Scotland. He moved to Salford City in 2020, and after one impressive season, signed for Ipswich. He only played 13 games in his first two seasons at Portman Road, but has now played his way into being number on choice between the posts.
Earlier This Season
The two sides met at the end of October, at Portman Road, with Ipswich winning 3-2. Argyle took the lead via a classic Morgan Whittaker strike, and looked set to have a chance to make it 2-0 just before half-time, when Mustapha Bundu was brought down en route to goal. However, a potential penalty or red card for the defender never came to fruition, as no foul was given.
Moments later, Ipswich went forward, won a corner, and scored from it via a Bali Mumba own-goal. After the break, George Hirst and Nathan Broadhurst scored to take the game away from Argyle, although Joe Edwards got a goal back late on.
Tickets
Tickets for this game have sold out.
If you have a season ticket and cannot attend, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Commentary for the game will be provided by Charlie Price and Katie Middleton.
Argyle TV’s pre-match show, hosted by Erin Black and Ian Stonebridge, will begin at 2pm, and is available to watch for free on YouTube.
Domestic supporters can listen to audio commentary on Argyle TV, while international supporters can buy a match pass to watch the game, here.
