Despite Liam Manning’s squad having lost three straight games, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has highlighted the threat Bristol City offer to his club.
The Tractor Boys, who have won five straight games and are now just three points behind Championship leaders Leicester City, are the obvious favourites for Tuesday night’s televised match at Portman Road.
In comparison, the 13th-placed Robins are just six points above the relegation zone after suffering defeats to Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff City, and QPR. To make matters worse, four of the 11 teams below them have won consecutive games in the last two weeks.
Even while such defeats are concerning when looking at the league standings, they have reinforced a pattern under Liam Manning that was somewhat evident under Nigel Pearson as well: City finds it difficult to disrupt low possession teams.
The Robins have three draws and six losses in the nine league games under Manning where the opposition has had 50% or less of the ball; in contrast, their record in the remaining 11 games is W6 D2 L3, indicating a notable change in win percentage.
“It’s evident, particularly from their FA Cup exploits and the outcomes against Southampton and Middlesbrough, just how dangerous they can be,” McKenna stated to the East Anglian Daily Times. When they play against teams that control the ball and aren’t the game favourites, they most likely perform well.
Our past experiences indicate that we need to be fully prepared for this game. They have a strong team, talented players, and a capable manager.
“Now that I know Liam better. We encountered his MK team during League One. He’s a decent man and coach, and he’ll undoubtedly want to make an impression by bringing his club here. It is our responsibility to prevent such and make an effort to perform well on our own.”
Though it’s likely that they haven’t spoken much in the lead-up to this game, Manning, whose coaching career started at Ipswich in the junior system, has previously mentioned McKenna as a fellow EFL coach he speaks to frequently.
For the first time since 1992, Ipswich can win six games in the second division, although they may be without important players Massimo Luongo (illness), Nathan Broadhead (thigh), and City academy product Wes Burns (calf), who missed Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Plymouth and will be evaluated closer to kickoff.
McKenna continued, “We’ll have to see how Massimo is.” Fortunately, it doesn’t appear that Wes and Nathan’s muscular strains are extremely serious, so they should be back in the lineup for the upcoming games. We’ll have to decide whether or not this one is too soon.
