Rotherham United will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing home defeat to Oxford United when they face league leaders Ipswich Town, and you can find all of the key information ahead of the clash below...
Fixture: Ipswich Town V Rotherham United
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Wednesday 23rd October 2019
Kick-Off: 7:45pm
Venue: Portman Road
Referee: J. Busby
Ipswich Town
Form: DWWWWL
League Position: 1st
Top Scorer: Kayden Jackson (6)
Ipswich have enjoyed a fruitful campaign thus far on their quest to return to the second flight of English football at the first time of asking.
With eight wins from twelve games and a league best of only seven goals conceded, the Tractor Boys are riding high at the Sky Bet League One summit.
However, Paul Lambert’s men tasted defeat in the league for the first time this season as they fell 2-0 to strugglers Accrington Stanley last weekend in front of the Sky television cameras.
That loss was only the second time Ipswich have failed to score in a league game this season, and with club top scorer Kayden Jackson and last year’s League Two leading marksman James Norwood up front, Rotherham’s reliable rearguard will need to be extra resolute.
The league leaders will be hoping to have Norwood, midfielder Flynn Downes and full-back Kane Vincent-Young back from injury after the trio all missed the Accrington defeat.
They will definitely be without youngster Armando Dobra after the 18-year-old was given a straight red card on his debut, but are given a boost by the return of James Wilson following the experienced centre-half’s one-game ban.
Rotherham United
Form: DDLWWL
League Position: 11th
Top Scorer: Freddie Ladapo (4)
Rotherham’s fine run of form ended when play-off chasing Oxford recorded an impressive 2-1 victory at the AESSEAL New York Stadium last Saturday.
The Millers had won three games on the bounce in all competitions before that defeat including an impressive 2-1 victory away to high-flying Blackpool.
Paul Warne’s men have a mixed bag of results on the road this campaign, but having already picked up a point away to Sunderland back in September, they will be confident of a similar performance in this repeat Championship fixture from last season.
A win for Rotherham could potentially see them climb into the play-off places, if results go their way, as the Millers look to build momentum as the busy Christmas period looms.
Rotherham are still awaiting the verdict on how long Scotsman Clark Robertson will be injured for after he missed last week’s game against Oxford with a groin problem.
However, he is almost certain to miss the Ipswich trip which comes as a major blow following his heroic goalscoring display against Blackpool.
One to watch: James Norwood
Without a doubt the main threat coming from Ipswich is that of experienced goalscorer Norwood.
The striker has made a habit over the years of regularly scoring goals, but it was last season when the 29-year-old really rose to prominence.
He scored 29 goals as he helped Tranmere Rovers gain promotion from Sky Bet League Two following a 1-0 play-off final victory over Newport County as well as unsurprisingly claiming the coveted Sky Bet League Two Player of the Year award.
In fact, the former Forest Green striker finished the season as joint top goal scorer in English football with 32 goals in all competitions, alongside Manchester City star Sergio Aguero, a remarkable feat to say the least.
Norwood has seemingly effortlessly adapted to life in League One with five goals already and, with the Englishman expected to be fit, Rotherham better be wary of the huge threat he poses.
Talk
Richie Barker: "To go towards the end of October before losing your first game marks an excellent start and they are clearly the early pacesetters. They kept the majority of their squad from last season and they were pretty much everybody's favourites to go straight back up to the Championship.
Coverage
iFollow Millers will be providing full 90-minute commentary from the matc and you can also watch the game on the service, whilst the Rotherham United Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and social media.