Nottingham Forest manager Dougie Freedman has seen his side slip into the bottom-half of the table after three successive defeats and is also grappling with a number of injuries in forward areas which has seen him linked this week with former Bolton and Crystal Palace player Andre Moritz.
But with the Reds having struggled for goals away from home all season it all points to another tight encounter which could be settled by a single strike.
Three of Ipswich’s last four matches have seen only one goal, the Suffolk men losing narrowly to Queens Park Rangers and Hull City (as well as a 2-1 defeat at Bristol City) before reviving their play-off hopes with a narrow success at Huddersfield Town last time out.
That left the Tractor Boys four points outside the top six but with a game in hand over Sheffield Wednesday who currently occupy the final play-off position although Mick McCarthy was typically honest when asked about his side’s chances afterwards.
He said: “I'm sick of talking about the play-offs. If we get in there, brilliant, if not there's not a damn thing I can do about it.”