Ipswich V Peterborough at Portman Road - Match Preview




Barnett waits for Town debut

Tyrone Barnett will have to wait a little longer for his Ipswich debut as parent club Peterborough arrive at Portman Road.

The striker joined Town this week on loan until January 19 having been transfer-listed by Posh after allegations that he breached club discipline. But he is ineligible for the clash between the two sides.

Changes are certain to be on the agenda for manager Mick McCarthy after last weekend's 6-0 debacle at Leicester.

Tommy Smith is expected to come back in at the heart of defence having found himself back on the bench at the King Power Stadium following his international exploits with New Zealand.

The likes of Michael Chopra, Luke Hyam, Andy Drury and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas are also pushing for starts.

Striker Paul Taylor (foot) remains a long-term absentee.

Dwight Gayle and George Thorne are added to the Peterborough squad for the trip.

Striker Gayle and midfielder Thorne joined Posh this week on loan from Dagenham and West Brom respectively.

Manager Darren Ferguson is considering starting Thorne in central midfield alongside Grant McCann in place of Michael Bostwick, who could switch to centre-half.

In terms of injuries, full-back Mark Little is available again after a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury but wing-back Tommy Rowe (ankle) is once again rated as doubtful.

"Mark is back and that is a boost because he has been playing well and it gives us more defensive options," said Ferguson. "However, Tommy is still 50-50. We had hoped he would have been able to train more this week but we will leave it as late as possible to see if he makes it or not."

Source: PA

Source: PA