This coming Saturday, Micky Mellon’s side will travel to East Anglia to face Ipswich where Tranmere legend James Norwood now plays his football. Tranmere will be looking to extend their unbeaten run after two bounce-back home performances saw the side pick up four points the previous week. However, the hosts enter the game as favourites after an unbeaten start to the season sees them placed at the top of the table.
Ipswich Town Football Club ‘The Tractor Boys’ play their football at Portman road, a stadium of great history as the first Division was won there in the 1961/62 season. Tranmere last visited Portman Road in the latter part of 1999, nothing was able to separate the two sides as the fixture ended at nil-nil. This season, Ipswich Town have competed as hosts five times : winning three and drawing two. As important as these results is the evident strong defence the club holds, with the last league goal conceded being more than a month ago. Thus, Tranmere’s visit to East Anglia will come of great competition. ‘The Tractor Boys’ have provided no team news for this weekends fixture. Tranmere Website has stated that Ipswich’s ‘one to watch’ is James Norwood, who has ‘hit the ground running’ since his summer arrival to East Anglia as he is placed at the top of the clubs goal-scoring chart.
Micky Mellon’s men come into this fixture with the hope of continuing their unbeaten form, after bouncing-back twice last week to ‘pick up’ 4 deserved points. The side will be bolstered by the return of Jake Caprice, who is yet to feature competitively since the infamous victory at Wembley in May. However, the side will be without the services of : Perkins (Hamstring), Blackett-Taylor (groin), Woods (calf), Ferrier (Knee), Maddox, Miller (Hamstring), Gumbs (ACL), Ellis (Knee), Wilson (Knee).
Did you know : Tranmere Rovers did the double over Ipswich Town during the 1996/97 First Division, with John Aldridge’s side winning 2-0 at Portman Road in October and 3-0 at Prenton Park a month later.
Expected lineups:
Ipswich – Holy, Edwards, Wilson, Chambers, Woolfenden, Vincent-Young, Skuse, Downs, Dozzel, Norwood, Judge.
Tranmere – Davies, Borthwick-Jackson, Ridehalgh, Monthe, Nelson, Caprice, Danns, Potter, Banks, Mullin, Payne.