Ipswich Town manager Paul Cook will ring the changes tomorrow but not because he wants to. Injuries are the deciding factor this time, so who can we expect not to see?
Sone Aluko came off after 60 minutes in our late victory over Fleetwood Town, so I would think he is a firm favourite in this regard. As always, Cook will not reveal who the missing players are, but I would not expect to see Aluko when the players assemble for their team huddle before kick-off.
The indication is that more than one player is unavailable, and the other could be Kyle Edwards. He took a few heavy knocks last week and was replaced by match-winner Bersant Celina, as the former West Bromwich Albion forward faded from the game.
If this is indeed the case, then it is good news for the Kosovan international because he has been deprived of a lot of game time recently, and is usually up for the big occasion! His last league start was away at Accrington Stanley on the 2nd of October when of course, Harry Pell scored a late winner for the home side in a closely fought encounter.
The only other injury concerns Conor Chaplin. The word from the training field suggests he took a bit of a knock in midweek and was feeling his ankle. All being well he should pull through because he has found a rich vein of form of late, and is scoring goals!
The Pilgrims top the table and haven’t lost since the start of the season so I would happily take a draw at Home Park. Last season, they were struggling near the foot of the division so this is a remarkable turnaround for a side that is flying at the moment. One of the primary reasons for this is the form of our Player of the Year from last season James Wilson. He is the one we let slip through the net when his contract ended. He did little wrong in a Town shirt as far as I can remember.
The Plymouth manager is a new kid on the managerial block, and like Cook is a Liverpudlian. At just 43, he is one of the youngest managers in the game, and because of his roots, knows the Ipswich manager rather well. In May 2018, Lowe was appointed full-time manager of Bury on a two-year contract. It was his first managerial post but he did well enough at it to alert other clubs to his potential, and on the 5th of June 2019, Lowe was appointed as the new manager of The Pilgrims.
In his first season in charge, Lowe guided them to a third-place finish and an immediate return to League One, but then Covid-19 arrived on the scene and changed everything. Last season, they seriously struggled, finishing 18th in the table, but the club stuck with their boss, and are now reaping the benefits of their inaction. Stephen Gerrard is a good mate of Lowe’s and he models his playing style on German guru Jurgen Klopp!
Plymouth are very attack-minded, as our Town, so this match promises to be a game of goals! Who gets them is anybody’s guess, but if we share the spoils I will be happy.
