The Blues will play under the Portman Road lights tonight (Image: PA)

UNDER THE LIGHTS

Despite defeat at Man City last weekend, the mood remains positive at Ipswich. The Blues went toe-to-toe with the Premier League leaders, a side with a 100% record in the competition, and gave them a real scare at the end.

Perhaps Town could have done better with Phil Foden’s opener and Erling Haaland’s brace, but a goal from Daizen Maeda and a late penalty from Zian Flemming gave them hope. It wasn’t to be at the Etihad Stadium, but there were probably more positives than negatives.

That sets Ipswich up nicely for a return to Portman Road – back under the lights, no less. There’s always a special feeling about night games on Suffolk soil, and the narrative around this one makes it particularly intriguing.

Town’s next run of games – Nottingham Forest (H), Hull City (A) and Bournemouth (H) – feel really significant.

Nottingham Forest have just one win to their name so far this season (Image: PA)

STRUGGLING FOREST

Nottingham Forest arrive at Portman Road in a tricky spot, second from bottom in the Premier League table with just five points from one win, two draws and four defeats.

Losing to Ipswich tonight could drop them to 20th by the time the weekend is over, depending on Sunderland’s result against Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.

Forest turned to Oliver Glasner over the summer after deciding to sack Vitor Pereira at the end of last season. The Austrian had a successful stint at Crystal Palace and hopes were high that he could get the Reds challenging towards the top end of the table after avoiding relegation by just five points.

He switched to his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation and brought in players like Xaver Schlager (free agent after leaving RB Leipzig), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP, £34m) and Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace, £22m).

But so far, it hasn’t really worked out. They were beaten by Leeds on opening day, with Daniel Farke’s side then dumping them out of the Carabao Cup a few days later.

Draws away at Liverpool and home to Spurs helped confidence, helped by a narrow win away at Aston Villa, but Forest are now on a three game losing streak, having been beaten by Coventry City (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Arsenal (H).

With a trip to Brentford and a tough home game against Man City on the horizon, tonight’s game looks to be vital for Glasner and for Forest. It sounds like they will be boosted by the return of key attacker Morgan Gibbs-White, too.

Possible Forest XI: 3-4-2-1: Sels; Cunha, Diomande, Murillo; Munoz, McAtee, Schlager, Williams; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Delap

Liam Delap is expected to lead the line against his former team (Image: PA)

DELAP RETURNS

Over the summer, it looked like Ipswich might end up welcoming two former players back to Suffolk for this game, but Omari Hutchinson’s departure to Serie A giants AC Milan (on loan with an option to buy) changed that.

Now, it’s just one, but it’s a meaningful one in Liam Delap, who is set to return to Portman Road for the first time since the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

The striker bagged 12 goals and two assists for the Blues in their last Premier League season, having joined from Manchester City for an initial £15m. He subsequently left for Chelsea after relegation was confirmed, with the London side triggering a £30m release clause to sign him.

Things didn’t work out for Delap at Stamford Bridge. He notched three goals and four assists in 49 appearances in all competitions, finding the back of the net just once in the Premier League. Fans became frustrated by his performances, and he ended up losing his place in the starting lineup.

A move to Forest followed over the summer, for an eye-catching £45m which could rise to £50m. The 23-year-old has scored once for them in six games, bagging the opener away at Aston Villa.

His output will need to improve to live up to his price tag. He’ll be hungry for a goal against his former employers tonight.

Gary O'Neil could revert to a back four after switching to a 3-4-2-1 last weekend (Image: Ross Halls)

BACK TO A FOUR?

For the first time, we saw Gary O’Neil move to a back five for the trip to Manchester City. Jacob Greaves come into the back line, with Leif Davis and Abdoul Ouattara acting as wing-backs. Julio Enciso and Daizen Maeda operated as wide no.10s either side of Emersonn.

It was effective, and O’Neil said that we’re likely to see it again. Could he stick with it against Forest, given that they play a similar system? I’m not so sure.

I think he’ll revert to his favoured front-footed 4-2-3-1 system for the next block of games, starting tonight. That will likely see Christian Walton playing behind a back line of Ouattara, Dara O’Shea, Greaves and Davis.

Sasa Lukic was missed against Man City, and while Town hoped to have him back for this one, O'Neil has confirmed that he won't be risked. Instead, expect Florentino to partner Exequiel Palacios.

Then, in attack, it’s hard to look past Abdul Fatawu on the right and Enciso through the middle. I’m leaning towards Maeda on the left, given his goal against City and the space he can exploit behind Munoz, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack Clarke or Jaden Philogene got the nod instead.

Up front, while I’d probably choose Zian Flemming’s combative style to fight Forest’s physical back line, I think Emersonn is the more likely option.

Possible Town XI: 4-2-3-1: Walton; Ouattara, Diop, O’Shea, Davis; Florentino, Palacios; Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda; Emersonn

Alex is backing Abdul Fatawu to get his first Town goal in a narrow victory (Image: Ross Halls)

MY PREDICTION

It’s important for Ipswich to build up a healthy points tally ahead of a tricky run of festive fixtures in December and January. This is one of those games that certainly looks winnable, given Forest’s form, but their quality cannot be ignored. They have a number of very talented players, many of whom played in Europe last season.

That being said, with spirits still high, I don’t want to go against Town, and why should I?

Under the lights at Portman Road, I’ll back the Blues to get the job done and win 2-1, with Fatawu getting on the scoresheet first.