As the threat of relegation gets closer by the week, Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna‘s job is not made easier by having a number of absentees for his side’s Premier League trip to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday.
The Tractor Boys may have eventually lost 2-1 in December’s reverse fixture, but they took the lead through attacking midfielder Conor Chaplin‘s first-half strike, and they have missed his presence since before the turn of the year when he last made a matchday squad.
Fellow attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics is also unavailable as he works his way back from an ankle injury that he picked up in February, and without Szmodics or Chaplin to turn to, McKenna is likely to start Julio Enciso behind striker Liam Delap.
In the forward line, right-winger Wes Burns and speedster Chiedozie Ogbene will both miss the remainder of the campaign with respective knee and calf injuries, so Omari Hutchinson and Jade Philogene-Bidace will be in the XI on Wednesday to provide width.
In defence, versatile right-sided defender Axel Tuanzebe has not made an Ipswich squad since his team lost on penalties to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup at the start of March, and the former Manchester United man is a doubt for this week’s clash.
In his absence, Dara O’Shea is likely to begin the match at right-back alongside Luke Woolfeden, Jacob Greaves and Leif Davis, all of whom will be protecting goalkeeper Alex Palmer between the sticks as Arijanet Muric is also a doubt.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup: Palmer; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Phillips, Cajuste; Philogene-Bidace, Hutchinson, Enciso; Delap
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