Ipswich Town head to Craven Cottage this afternoon in good heart after dishing out another festive defeat to Chelsea hot on the heels of Enzo Maresco’s side being beaten at Stamford Bridge in the SW6 derby for the first time since 1979. Town remain in the bottom three, but sitting a point from safety, are the best placed of last season’s promoted trio to avoid the drop – and have momentum on their side, with Kieran McKenna’s men having really kicked on since their first Premier League win, which also came in the capital when goals from Sammie Szmodics and Liam Delap stunned Spurs in November.
McKenna stayed at Portman Road, when his former employers Manchester United and Chelsea amongst others, were making serious entreaties for his services in the summer. The softly-spoken former Northern Ireland under-21 international, who was born in London but raised in Fermanagh, has had one of the more remarkable coaching journeys since taking his badges after injury ended his playing career aged 22. McKenna has masterminded Ipswich’s ascent from mid-table in League One when he took charge in December 2021 to the top tier, winning promotion from the Championship in swashbuckling style last season.
A studious manager his switch to a three-man central defence has helped Ipswich pick up more points in the unforgiving environment of the Premier League, although Town were certainly impressive in the 1-1 draw against Fulham at Portman Road in August. That fixture featured Liam Delap’s first Premier League goal since a £15m move from Manchester City – a superb 26-yard finish after he had ran half the length of the pitch. The fee raised eyebrows, but looks a bargain now as the son of former Carlisle and Southampton favourite Rory has scored seven goals and added two assists in nineteen games. His physicality and boundless energy make him every inch the modern lone striker.
McKenna is likely to stick with the 3-4-2-1 system that saw Wes Burns get forward to good effect as Ipswich humbled Chelsea last weekend. With Axel Tuanzebe out injured, McKenna will likely field three centre halves in the form of Martin Wolfenden, Dara O’Shea and Jacob Greaves with former Fulham academy product Cameron Burgess on the bench. The Australian international, who made his senior debut at Portman Road as a defensive midfielder for the Whites in an early iteration of Felix bingo, has made more than a hundred appearances for Town – helping them win successive promotions – and it is fair to say that, like Dan Burn before him, the powers-that-be probably misjudged the Aberdeen-born defender’s ceiling.
Fulham will also need to watch the creativity of Leif Davis, a left wing-back of real promise, and attacking midfielders Omari Hutchinson, who delighted in humbling his former club Chelsea, as well as Welsh international Nathan Broadhead. Former Wigan Athletic captain Sam Morsy, who McKenna identified as becoming something of a scapegoat during his pre-match press conference this week, will be as competitive as ever in a crucial midfield battle that will go a long way to deciding just how much of the ball Fulham will see.
Marco Silva paid particular tribute to McKenna and Ipswich in his own media commitments ahead of this game – but the Portuguese will demand his side returning to winning ways after throwing away a win against Bournemouth in the last minute of an end-to-end encounter last Sunday. Silva’s selection will be interesting – especially whether he matches up with Ipswich’s back three or moves back to the 4-2-3-1 system that has been his preferred formation since succeeding Scott Parker. The former will give Fulham more ability to retain possession, but Joachim Andersen has looked a little rusty since returning from his calf complaint and the Whites might be better served with more numbers in the final third.
Harrison Reed has returned to training but this fixture comes too soon for the tenacious midfielder, whilst Sander Berge’s long-awaited return could arrive against Watford in the FA Cup on Thursday evening. That leaves Silva with a conundrum of who to play alongside Sasa Lukic in the engine room; Andreas Pereira’s future remains uncertain despite Fulham rejecting the latest bid from Palmeiras, while captain Tom Cairney’s classy cameo from the bench looked to have swung the Bournemouth game back in Fulham’s favour before an ill-fated pass from Issa Diop gifted the Cherries an equaliser. There’s always the option of another start for the energetic teenager, Josh King, too. You’d expect Raul Jimenez to come back in for Rodrigo Muniz up front, but Silva’s selections have been surprisingly lately.
MY FULHAM XI (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, A. Robinson, Diop, Bassey; Lukic, Cairney; Wilson, Iwobi, King; Jimenez. Subs: Benda, Andersen, R. Sessegnon, Pereira, Smith Rowe, Godo, Traore, Muniz, Vinicius.
