Ipswich Town manager Gary O’Neil has insisted that he has given no thought to the extra ‘noise’ that surrounds this weekend’s opponents, Manchester City.

The Citizens have been on the front and back pages over the last few weeks following confirmation that they had been found guilty of 114 serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules over a nine-season period.

City maintain their innocence and have subsequently launched an appeal, the result of which is not expected to be known until the new year.

Saturday’s clash against the Tractor Boys is City’s first Premier League fixture at the Etihad Stadium since the verdict, but O’Neil is expecting it to be business as usual for the home side.

“I haven’t put any thought into that at all, to be honest. No, I would expect an atmosphere that we normally get when we go to a top side away from home,” he said.

“I think there’s probably been noise for a while now, so I think it’s just a game. The noise is going to continue, and Manchester City are going to continue to play games, so I don’t think it’s anything really for me to speak on.”

Instead, O’Neil’s focus is on how Ipswich can cause an upset against the leaders, who have won all six of their league fixtures so far this term.

He added: “We get the group ready for what is going to be a really tough test against the quality side of quality players in a stadium that will fully back their team, which is what you get every time you go there. We're ready for that. The group is ready. It's in a really good spot.

“I’m really looking forward to it. The players should be really excited with the challenge that we have ahead of us, but it’s not a challenge that we are fearing in any way. We go there, and we try to be ourselves.

“We try to be on the front foot. We try to equip ourselves well enough to deal with the many threats that they pose. We know how much work it’s going to take from everybody, not just the (starting) 11.

“Staff, subs, non-subs, everybody travelling up there. We go together as a united group to try and do something special on the road against an excellent side.”

In terms of team news, while late checks are set to be made on a couple of players, O’Neil is expecting to have a near-fully fit squad at his disposal.