Ipswich Town vs Bristol City. Sky Bet Championship.
Portman RoadAttendance15,256.
Friday 29 September 2017 16:36, UK
On-loan Manchester City midfielder Bersant Celina could retain his place in the Ipswich side for the visit of Bristol City.
OptaThe Kosovo international made his first Championship start against Sunderland on Tuesday night and scored in the 5-2 win. Defender Adam Webster is stepping up his recovery from an ankle injury, but midfielder Flynn Downes (thigh) remains sidelined.
Luke Hyam has undergone knee surgery which is expected to keep the midfielder out until the end of the year. Emyr Huws (Achilles), Teddy Bishop (hernia) and Tommy Smith (hamstring) all continue their rehabilitation while midfielder Andre Dozzell (knee) is a long-term absentee.
Bristol City are without suspended midfielder Marlon Pack. Pack collected a fifth booking of the season in the midweek 2-0 victory over Bolton and Josh Brownhill is set to deputise. Eros Pisano (knee) and Milan Djuric (groin) remain out, while Gary O'Neil has suffered a setback in his return from a knee problem.
O'Neil has not played for over five weeks and Robins boss Lee Johnson reported the veteran midfielder is "back to the drawing board" after pulling out of training last week.
Ipswich haven't lost at home to Bristol City in any competition since September 1978, winning eight and drawing four games since then.
The Robins have only beaten Ipswich away from home in the second tier once before - a 3-1 win in April 1960, with a brace coming from John Atyeo.
Mick McCarthy hasn't lost a home match against Bristol City since April 1992, when he was manager of Millwall - it was McCarthy's first home defeat as a manager, with Leroy Rosenior scoring a brace and Andy Cole the other goal in a 3-2 win for the Robins.
Bristol City are the only side yet to lose when they've conceded the first goal in the Championship this season, drawing at Wolves and beating Derby.
After a run of five consecutive league draws at Portman Road, none of Ipswich's last eight home league games have ended level (W6 L2).
The Robins are unbeaten in their last eight league games - their longest run in the second tier since a run of eight in April 2012.
