Category: Ipswich

A Busy Weekend For Huddersfield

Back to the league after last week’s disastrous showing in the FA Cup.

As I’ve got another family commitment this weekend, I’ve only got time for a short post – but the main issue is that Huddersfield have got to play twice in four days and both of their games are against promotion rivals.

Huddersfield v Brighton (this evening, 7:45pm, Sky Sports 1)

Town have a couple of games in hand over most of the other promotion contenders – except Brighton, who have earned 11 points over the same number of matches as the Terriers. Although the hosts have only lost twice at home this season, their next three scheduled games at the John Smith’s Stadium are against teams above them, starting with this one. Brighton shouldn’t expect to have it their own way this evening: they’ve only recorded three wins at Huddersfield in the last sixteen years and lost 7-1 in August 2009.

Saturday’s games include two that will have an impact at both ends of the table:

Newcastle v Derby

It’ll be interesting to see how Newcastle do after Ciaran Clarke’s late own goal earned QPR a share of the points at St. James’ Park last night. The Toon are still firm favourites to go up, but have only won half of their last six home matches. Last weekend’s win at Ipswich was Derby’s first away victory since mid-December: the Rams have only won one of their last 13 games at Newcastle.

Bristol City v Rotherham

Having seemingly steadied the ship against Sheffield Wednesday earlier this week, the hosts go into this one look for their first home win since the start of December. Rotherham have lost all but one of their away games this season and haven’t scored on the road since Joe Newell gave the Millers the lead at Fulham in mid-December.

Then on Sunday, it’s time for Huddersfield to entertain Leeds. Pontus Jansson’s dramatic late winner at Blackburn last night gave United their first away win sin Boxing Day and this season they’ve won both of the Yorkshire derbies where they’ve been the visitors. Leeds have only three of their last ten visits to Huddersfield for league games, but Huddersfield have only won once in the last five meetings.

Other televised games:

Wigan v Sheffield Wednesday (tomorrow, 7:45pm, Sky Sports Mix), Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa (Saturday, 5:30pm, Sky Sports Mix)

I’ll be back next week with a longer post, enjoy the weekend. I’m going to be in Stevenage for my sister in law’s 40th…

FA Cup 4th Round Preview

This weekend sees the remaining clubs from the Championship take their chances in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, but with six of the eleven teams that successfully navigated the last round taking on Premier League opposition, it’s possible that interest will be down to a minimum next month.

Before we go any further, there are two Championship clubs playing League One sides, so if you want to read about the games involving Newcastle and Huddersfield you’ll have to visit Buzzin League 1 Football to read the previews. Otherwise I’ll break down the games in the usual format.

Televised games: Derby v Leicester (7:55pm this evening, BBC1), Liverpool v Wolves (12:30 tomorrow, BBC1), Sutton United v Leeds (2:00pm Sunday BT Sport 2), Manchester United v Wigan (4:00pm Sunday BBC1).

Championship v Premier League

Derby and Leicester meet in the FA Cup for the first time in almost 108 years, but despite their poor form in the Premier League Leicester have won eight of the last nine meetings between the clubs. Liverpool last met Wolves in the cup more recently – only 65 years ago – but Wanderers have only recorded one victory in eight games against Liverpool since the turn of the century. Wigan have only beaten Manchester United once in seventeen meetings, although they’ve never been drawn against each other in the FA Cup.

Non-televised games: Burnley v Bristol City, Chelsea v Brentford (both 3pm Saturday)

The theme continues: Bristol City have never played at Turf Moor in a cup tie of any sort. However, Brentford have played at Chelsea comparatively recently: in March 2013 they forced a 2-2 draw at Griffin Park before losing the replay 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Which leaves us with one possible surprise in this category – if you could call it that.

Fulham v Hull (Sunday 12:30pm)

The Cottagers have been on a decent run of at home recently (one defeat in eight) but they’ve not won an FA Cup tie in front of their own fans for three years. Having written that, the last time these sides met in the competition was in 1975, when Fulham reached the final after beating Hull in a second replay at Leicester’s old ground, Filbert Street. Could history repeat itself? Both clubs lost this week, but Fulham have had an extra day to recover.

Championship v League Two

Blackburn v Blackpool (tomorrow 3pm)

There have been some signs of life at Ewood Park recently. Rovers haven’t lost at home since before Christmas and are currently only in the bottom three on goal difference. The FA Cup probably isn’t a priority, but putting one over their Lancashire rivals could well be and although Blackpool have already knocked Barnsley out of the competition this season, the Tangerines haven’t beaten Blackburn in any of their three previous meetings in the competition. Last league meeting was a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park two years ago.

Championship v National League

Lincoln v Brighton (tomorrow 3pm)

The Imps dumped a very lacklustre Ipswich side out in the last round to reach this stage of the competition for the first time in over 40 years, when the late Graham Taylor was in charge at Sincil Bank. Brighton will be a much tougher task than the Tractor Boys, although Lincoln won the most recent FA Cup tie between the sides – despite being one division below Brighton.

Sutton v Leeds (see televised matches)

Only previous meeting: a Fourth Round tie in January 1970, which Leeds won 6-0. They went on to reach the final, which they lost in a replay at Old Trafford after a thrilling 2-2 draw on a Wembley in the last FA Cup final to be held in April – supposedly to help the England team have enough time to prepare for the defence of the World Cup in Mexico.

There are five league games tomorrow and a full midweek programme next week, but I’ll update as we go along and I’ll be back next Friday.

UPDATE

A ridiculous weekend. Derby began badly but nearly beat Leicester, Wolves lead for the entire game against Liverpool and recorded a memorable victory and Blackburn, Fulham and Huddersfield won comfortably.

Otherwise it was absolutely dismal. Brentford and Bristol City did as well as was expected, but the rest of the Championship teams were a disgrace. You know who you are: if promotion to the Premier League is your priority, perhaps you should just not bother playing at all and just pay a fine or similar.

Fifth Round Draw:

Blackburn v Manchester United, Fulham v Spurs, Huddersfield v Manchester City, Millwall v Derby or Leicester and Wolves v Chelsea

FA Cup Third Round Preview

Just a quick look this time round as I’ve had some technical issues as well as a hacking cough for most of the last two weeks.

As I’ve been fond of repeating for the last few seasons, we’re lucky if half of the clubs in the Championship qualify for the fourth round and having not had a second tier winner for almost 40 years, there’s no point expecting one in 2016/17.

Championship v Premier League 

Considering that six of the eight ties in this category involve the Championship teams travelling to clubs in the Promised Land, I can’t see much hope for an early upset. Sheffield Wednesday visit Middlesbrough in what could be a very competitive game and the Midlands derby between West Brom and…errr…Derby should be worth keeping an eye on, but does anyone genuinely fancy Burton, Reading or Preston causing upsets?

All Championship

With only four guaranteed places in the next round, there’s a chance that whoever takes their opportunities now may stand a chance of reaching the last sixteen. For that reason, Birmingham v Newcastle is potentially the tie of the round in this category: on the other hand, neither Wigan nor Nottingham Forest will want to hang around in the FA Cup if they’re serious about avoiding the drop.

Championship v League One

In one of those quirks of fate that happens when the draw is made, all four of the ties in this category have the Championship clubs at home. I can’t see Brighton or Huddersfield having much trouble with MK Dons and Port Vale respectively, but there’s a possibility that Bristol City and Rotherham might find Fleetwood or Oxford too much to handle.

There’s only one game where a Championship club takes on one from League 2: Barnsley travel to Blackpool. On paper, both of the ties between sides from the Championship and non-league teams ought to be straightforward for both Brentford and Ipswich, although neither Eastleigh or Lincoln are mugs.

Televised games: Manchester United v Reading (BT Sport 1, 12:30pm tomorrow), Preston v Arsenal (BT Sport 1, 5:30pm tomorrow) and Spurs v Aston Villa (BBC 1, 4:00pm Sunday). The draw for the fourth round will be on Monday, I’ll probably update as the weekend progresses and I’ll be back next week.

Update: Leeds, Fulham, Brentford, Brighton, Huddersfield, Blackburn, Wolves, Derby and Wigan all won at the first time of asking over the weekend. Birmingham, Newcastle, Barnsley, Bristol City, Ipswich (against Lincoln!) and Norwich all face replays, so there are currently ten guaranteed places for Championship clubs in the fourth round.

So far the only confirmed fourth round ties involving Championship teams are:

Fulham v Hull, Chelsea v Brentford, Rochdale v Huddersfield, Derby v Leicester and Manchester United v Wigan. If Ipswich win at Lincoln in the replay, they’ll host Brighton in the next round and if Barnsley beat Blackpool in their replay they’ll travel to Blackburn.

I’ll be back on Thursday, in time for the Reading/QPR clash that evening.

FA Cup Third Round Draw

The draw was pretty harsh – only four guaranteed places in the fourth round, with eight teams drawn against Premier League opposition, six of whom will have to travel.

Championship v Premier League

Manchester United v Reading, Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday, Norwich v Southampton, Preston v Arsenal, Stoke v Wolves, Spurs v Aston Villa, Watford v Burton, WBA v Derby

All Championship

Birmingham v Newcastle, Cardiff v Fulham, QPR v Blackburn, Wigan v Nottingham Forest

Championship v League 1

Brighton v Charlton or MK Dons, Huddersfield v Port Vale

Championship v League 2

Blackpool v Barnsley, Cambridge v Leeds

Championship v Non-League

Brenford v Eastleigh or Halifax, Ipwich v Lincoln

Championship v Teams Needing A Replay

Bristol City v Fleetwood/Shrewsbury, Rotherham v Macclesfield/Oxford

Back on Friday with the Market Reports.

Something Different This Week

Only two games came to my attention this weekend and as I’d expect neither Newcastle nor Huddersfield will lose and the top two can’t be overtaken anyway, it’s time for a slightly different angle.

Looking at the current table, it’s interesting to see that some of the most interesting statistics seem to be clustered around just a few clubs – so I thought I’d take a detailed look at them.

I was initially sceptical about Newcastle’s chances this season, but that was before I realised exactly how good they are. This is already beginning to look like a masterclass in how to win the Championship: the present side are performing at the same level as the 2009/10 team that won the title by 11 points.

United have scored in all but one of their games at St James’ Park this season and have scored three or more goals in exactly half of their home outings but it’s their away record that’s astonishing. The season opening defeat at Fulham was their only defeat so far: since then they’ve won seven of their next eight games and have kept six clean sheets. To be quite frank, it does make you wonder how they got here in the first place.

In contrast, I’ve not been surprised by Aston Villa at all. Although they’re only five points away from the playoffs, they’re currently 13 behind Brighton, which at this point in time looks insurmountable. The big problem they’ve had this season is blowing leads in four of their five draws at Villa Park and two of their five ties on the road: their only away win this season was courtesy of an injury time penalty at Reading last month. That indicates to me that although they may be tough to beat, they’re currently nowhere near good enough to go up: if they don’t win promotion, it’ll be the longest period outside the top tier since the mid Seventies.

At the bottom, Cardiff have been beaten at home more times than any other club this season, which ties in nicely with their major regression from last season. Since promotion in 2003, the Bluebirds have only lost more than five home games in a season on three occasions. The last time they were relegated from this section – at the end of 1984/85 – they lost 13 games at Ninian Park. In fact, it won’t come as any surprise that they’d also lost five home games by the end of November 1984: they’ve been better at home since Neil Warnock took over at the start of last month, but the Bluebirds still have some work to do.

Wigan are in trouble largely due to having scored the fewest goals in front of their own fans: the Latics have been shut out in five of their eight home games this season.. Will Griggs’ 88th minute winner against Wolves at the end of September is the most recent goal at the DW Stadium: there have been four and half hours of football since then.  Ipswich are as bad at scoring away from home – they’ve scored four goals in eight games, half of which came at Sheffield Wednesday three weeks ago.

And then there’s Rotherham.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is already an historically inept season for the Millers. They’ve lost all but one of their away fixtures this season and would have won the other one if they’d not conceded an injury time equaliser at Ipswich. Opponents have scored at least twice in all games so far. Their post-war record for goals conceded in away games was 57 in 1957/58, when they finished 18th in the old Second Division and avoided relegation by three points: the highlight of that campaign was an 8-0 defeat at West Ham in March. Additionally, they’re on course to break their own record of winning the fewest amount of points in the section since the second tier was renamed the Championship at the start of 2004/05. The Millers finished with 29 points at the end of that season: I’ve currently got them on target to finish with even fewer than that.

There’ll be a short preview of the League Cup quarter finals on Tuesday, but don’t forget that the draw for the Third Round of the FA Cup will be made on Monday 5th December.