Ipswich Town

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Leicester City will be no pushovers when they visit Portman Road in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 GMT), according to Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna.

The Foxes have slipped into the relegation zone after having six points deducted for breaching financial regulations, and on the back of a nine-game winless run, but McKenna says they still have plenty of quality.

"We felt it earlier in the season... you look at their starting 11 and they're as strong as anyone in the division," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"If you look at their Premier League experience and international caps and things like that they may even be the strongest team, but in the end it doesn't really matter, we know they have good players and an experienced manager - but we feel we're a good team with good players and it's up to us to show that."

Ipswich will still be without defender Ashley Young and forward Jaden Philogene although McKenna says the latter is nearing a return from a six-week absence with a knee injury.

"Jaden has made some pretty good progress this week, stepping up his ball work, but he hasn't trained with the group yet so isn't ready to be involved," he added.

Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna became the club's fastest boss to win 100 games in charge when they beat Hull City 1-0 on Tuesday evening.

This was a Premier League fixture last season but while Ipswich are third and will go second with a win on Saturday, Leicester are one point adrift in the relegation zone and on a nine-game winless run in the Championship.

• Ipswich Town have won one of their past 12 league games against Leicester (D4 L7), a 1-0 home win in March 2013.

• Leicester are looking for their first league double over Ipswich since the 2013-14 season when they won the Championship title under Nigel Pearson.

• Ipswich have lost just one of their past 30 league games against teams who are 25+ points below them in the league table (W19 D10), losing 2-1 to Cardiff City in March 2024. At home, they last did so in February 2005 against Watford (W17 D4 since then).

• Leicester are winless in their past nine league games, last enduring a longer run without victory when playing outside the Premier League from February to April 2007 in the Championship (10 games).

• Leicester have gone 29 consecutive league games without a clean sheet – the last side to go 30 games in one season without a shutout was Wolves in 2011-12 in the Premier League (30), and outside the top flight it was Colchester in the Championship in 2007-08 (38).

Image source, Shutterstock

Earlier we asked what you make of the news that, from next season, the Championship play-offs will be expanded to include the teams finishing seventh and eighth?

It was announced on Thursday morning that EFL clubs voted in favour of expanding the play-offs from four to six teams.

Here's a selection of your comments...

Josh, Derby: I don't believe this is necessary. I do think that the play-off format should be aligned throughout the top five leagues, but expanding isn't needed. Better distribution of the monies involved and establishing a clear matchday structure to balance various men's and women's leagues would be a better use of everyone's time. This strikes me undue American influence.

Callum, Dartford: I think it's a good thing so teams can push for promotion that thought they wouldn't get near the play-offs.

Cato, Sheffield: If we adopted it to this season, it means that eighth-placed Derby (on 51 points) have about as much a chance of going up as third-placed Millwall (on 63 points). Plus, to accommodate the extra games, would they extend the season into June? I don't like the idea of it at all, and I hope it's short-lived.

Steve, London: Another example of football being ruined, week by week. Don't you dare think about implementing VAR too.

Mark, Stafford: As a Stoke fan, I think it's good news. The season has come to a grinding halt due to being decimated by injuries. Add to that, the quality of what is coming down from the Premier League, it would mean upsets can happen and still allow teams in that mid-table race to dream of greater heights!

Richard, Stansted: Absolutely ridiculous. What is the point of a league format if you are going to make it a bigger lottery to include even more teams at the end of the season? It also brings teams that are even less ready to actually be in the Premier League into scope. But mostly it's the undermining of the league format which makes no sense. I'm a Derby fan - and we look like we would have a chance of benefiting from this if it were in place this season.

Andy, Nuneaton: Anything that expands the opportunities for those outside of the parachute teams is a good thing. We need to get away from this elite view of the Premier League. If it was up to them, they'd stop automatic promotion and relegation and have a system like Rugby Union, where it's based on meeting certain criteria. The eighth-placed club in the Championship getting to the PL? Bring it on!

Ron, Hayling: Money, Money, Money. Players complain about the amount of games they play with the league games and cup competitions so the intention is to play even more at the end of the season. Owners will make some money but that's all that matters!

Barry, Dartford: Yes it's a fantastic for everyone, all the small teams as well as the big boys, to have something to play for. It will give the end of the season something to look forward to.

Benjamin, Poole: I'm a Charlton fan, so it's unlikely we'll come 8th in the Championship any time soon, however, this is ridiculous. More pandering to Americans to make it more likely they'll make money, which is the only thing they care about. Sporting integrity out of the window again. Shame as I felt the Championship was the last bastion of quality and integrity combined. Game has gone.

Broughton, Derby: Absolute ridiculous, put it back to the old days of three straight up, no play-offs. If you don't make top-three you don't deserve to go up.

Julian, London: The worst decision from a footballing point of view ever! The National League teams have been trying to change their system to be like the current EFL system so it seems a very strange decision for the EFL to take. You can finish 8th after 46 games and still get promoted - sporting integrity has been totally lost with this decision. Money over integrity every time!

Former Championship winger Jobi McAnuff says the victories Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town picked up earlier this week were "huge".

Boro won 3-1 at Birmingham City on Monday night, while the Tractor Boys edged 1-0 past Hull City at Portman Road the following evening.

It leaves second-placed Middlesbrough three points ahead of Ipswich, who are third but have a game in hand and a currently superior goal difference.

"It was huge in terms of Middlesbrough just getting out of that mini slump after doing so well under Kim Hellberg," McAnuff told the BBC Football Daily 72+ podcast.

"Losing what was a huge game at Coventry and then a couple of games against teams you would expect them to go and win that they weren't able to.

"To go and pull off a result at St Andrew's which has been a real tough place for anyone to get results for a very long period of time, to be back in the goals, I think it was really important for them. Then it was over to you [Ipswich]."

McAnuff, who played in the second tier for Reading, Watford and Crystal Palace, says the constant pendulum swing of results is "the beauty of this stage of the season".

"That pressure definitely ramps up when the team you're challenging plays after and you've just got the three points," he added.

"Again for Ipswich to find a way to win, Hull made it really tough for them. But what a strike from [Azor] Matusiwa.

"When you've got that quality to unlock a game that looked as though it might have been drifting for a 0-0, it gives them a massive boost.

"They [Ipswich] are the ones I've always thought they are coming with the quality they've got. They're flip-flopping Jack Clarke and Anis Mehmeti at the moment, it is ridiculous."

Kieran McKenna became the fastest manager to reach 100 wins as Ipswich Town boss with the 1-0 victory over Hull City on Tuesday night, eclipsing the record previously held by the legendary Sir Alf Ramsey.

McKenna reached a century of wins in his 210th game in charge thanks to midfielder Azor Matusiwa's excellent 20-yard strike.

Ramsey, England's 1966 World Cup-winning manager, clocked up his 100th victory for the club in 212 matches.

"My brother told me about it yesterday, it's certainly one of the nicer sentences that you can be put in," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"What it means, I don't know, there have obviously been some amazing managers. A few top, top, top managers here have done incredible things, well beyond what I've done at this football club.

"I don't need to be compared in those terms but of course, we've won lots of games over the last few years and it's been a good journey so far."

Victory against the Tigers lifted the Tractor Boys up to third in the Championship and three points behind second-placed Middlesbrough with a game in hand.

Town also welcome Boro to Portman Road on 18 April for what may well be a crucial encounter in the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Here are the fastest six managers to reach 100 victories for Ipswich and how many games it took them:

• Kieran McKenna - 210

• Sir Alf Ramsey - 212

• George Burley - 230

• Scott Duncan - 241

• Mick McCarthy - 258

• Sir Bobby Robson - 271

Ipswich Town midfielder Azor Matusiwa has told fans not to expect a goal rush from him after finally breaking his duck in his 34th game for the club.

The Dutchman's 20-yard strike was enough to secure a vital home victory over Hull City - and was reminiscent of some of the goals scored this season by injured team-mate Jaden Philogene.

Asked whether supporters should now look to him to be a regular goals contributor, he joked: "No, don't expect more. If I think I can do it, I will do it - but it's not my job."

The win moved Ipswich to within three points of second-placed Middlesbrough and eight behind leaders Coventry City, and was their third in a row, extending an unbeaten record at Portman Road to 12 games.

"It was a really good performance. We knew it would be a hard game and in these kinds of games, you just have to manage to win, it doesn't matter how," Matusiwa told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"It was a really good feeling. I asked for the ball from Leif (Davis) and thought 'I have to shoot' - it was a good hit. I knew when it left my foot it can be a goal.

"From the start, I've felt the love from the supporters, from my team-mates and the staff and of course you want to pay it back.

"Maybe it's better to score in this kind of game when it's hard to score. It was a big moment for me and I am happy to give something back."

The victory was the 100th for boss Kieran McKenna, who said of Matusiwa: "Everyone here knows how well he's doing, he's going from strength to strength.

"But over the course of a season you sometimes need your number six, your holding midfielder, to step forward and smack one in the top corner at some point, and he picked a good time."

Ipswich are at home again on Saturday when they welcome struggling Leicester City (15:00 GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was in calm mood after his 100th win in charge took the Tractor Boys to within three points of the automatic promotion places in the Championship.

Azor Matusiwa's fine strike beat Hull to put McKenna firmly in the hunt for a third promotion at the club.

He told BBC Radio Suffolk: "When you win a game with a goal like that at this stage of the season it always feels big. That's three wins in a row with clean sheets. We had to overcome a compact side who made it really hard for us.

"We defended well and limited them to nothing, and then we scored a brilliant goal. He's having a fantastic season and you need your holding midfielder to do that at some point in a season.

"It's going to take a healthy points total to go up, and we'll take the momentum from tonight. I'm sure we won't win all of our games and neither will the other teams up there - we can only tick off good performances and good results."

Image source, Shutterstock

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said Tuesday's game against play-off rivals Hull City is no more significant than any other in the Championship.

The two sides are fourth and fifth in the table with 60 points, just three behind second-placed Middlesbrough, although Town have a game in hand.

It has been billed as a 'six pointer' but McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk: "They're a really dangerous team, can score at any moment, and we're going to have to be at our best.

"I don't see it as any bigger than any of the other ones. It's against a really good team, but you have to respect everyone equally.

"There's so many games to go and so many teams that are tight [together,] so we just get ready for the next game respectful of their strengths, and get ready to bring the best of us."

McKenna is delighted with the recent form of George Hirst and Ivan Azon after the club failed to bring in any striking reinforcements in January.

Both scored in Saturday's 3-0 win over Swansea City - making it two in two for Hirst, who also netted in the previous game at Watford.

"They're both doing well," said McKenna. "That's two good goals off the bench for George, two striker goals, and he's continued to conduct himself well.

"It's a great way to build himself up, coming on and impacting off the bench. He's getting big chances every game he comes on."

On Azon, he added: "He has improved in every aspect. Part of that is the physicality of English football, but also tactically, understanding his team-mates and what we need from him, and he's delivering some good all-round centre-forward performances."

Ipswich Town could enter the automatic promotion places if they are to win against Hull City on Tuesday evening (19:45 GMT).

The Tractor Boys are three points short of current second place holders Middlesbrough, but a superior goal difference will mean Boro will lose out should Ipswich win and Middlesbrough lose to Birmingham City on Monday night (20:00 GMT).

But the Tigers have their own motivation for victory. Three points would also move them level on points with the Teesside club as it stands and while it's unlikely they can make up the goals to reach second on this occasion, they will be piling on the pressure to do so next time around.

• After their 2-0 win in November, Ipswich could complete their first ever league double over Hull City – this is the 21st league campaign in which the two sides have faced.

• Hull City have lost three of their last four league meetings with Ipswich (D1), as many as their previous 25 beforehand (W14 D8 L3).

• Ipswich have only lost one of their last 21 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) games in the Championship (W14 D6), a 0-3 defeat to Charlton in October 2025.

• After losing six successive away league games played in midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) from November 2024 to November 2025, Hull won their last such fixture 3-0 at Preston in January.

• Chuba Akpom has scored in all three of his league appearances against Hull City (3 goals), including as a substitute for Ipswich in the reverse fixture in November.

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna said his team stayed 'humble' to beat Swansea City and stay in the hunt for the play-off places.

He told BBC Radio Suffolk: "A good performance. I thought the boys went at it with a lot of humility, recognised exactly what the opponent was and what we needed to do.

"That meant first half a really aggressive high press, man to man. We put together some really good moves through the pitch ourselves and got the goals.

"Second half we needed to stay humble, defend, limit them and know we would get some big opportunities of our own.

"There were some lovely passages of play against a good opponent who contributed to the game as well."

Image source, Coventry City FC

You might not hear the old terrace refrain of 'you're not fit to wear the shirt' as often as you used to, but it still has a better ring than 'the shirt's not fit for you to wear'.

Championship leaders Coventry City launched a new collection on Friday, proudly taking inspiration from a kit widely dubbed the 'Worst of All Time'.

A take on the club's infamous brown change strip worn away from Highfield Road from 1978 to 1981, the modern reinvention features what the club calls "a deeper chocolate plum colour with sky blue elements".

Many would suggest it sounds tastier than it looks.

But it's got us thinking... what are actually the worst EFL kits of all time? Let us know which of your club's shirts is hiding in the back of the wardrobe, or even if they were too ugly for you to even part money for them.

We'll collate a list of the biggest eyesores and will give you the chance to vote on the ghastliest of all next week.

Click here to let us know your suggestion, and you can even attach a picture if you really want to convey the horror.

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich Town head coach Kieran McKenna believes there are still too many games remaining in the season to be looking at the Championship table.

The Suffolk side are in fourth place, six points short of the top two, as they prepare to face Swansea City at Portman Road on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

"I think there's still such a long way to go. I know it feels closer and everyone's waiting for that last bit but there's still nearly a third of the season left," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"It's an awful lot of games. I don't think we're even right in the spell yet of the last bit of the season."

Ipswich got back to winning ways by beating Watford 2-0 at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night as they seek an immediate return to the Premier League.

"We're in a spell of seven games in 21 days and we have to focus on each one and our performances, delivering performances and getting the best result we can," added McKenna.

"It's not the time to be thinking about the league table at all. Probably when we get to the international break and there are eight games left in a short space of time you probably have a look at where we're at and think about what the run-in might look like."

Ipswich will have defender Leif Davis back for the visit of Swansea after he missed the victory over Watford but 10-goal forward Jaden Philogene remains sidelined with a knee injury.

Listen to more Ipswich Town interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

Ipswich Town are playing their first home league game in a month, having had three away matches since drawing with Preston at Portman Road on 31 January.

Swansea snatched a last-minute equaliser against Preston on Tuesday night to make it only two defeats from their past six outings but only West Brom (11) and Sheffield Wednesday (7) have won fewer than their 14 points away from home.

• Ipswich have won their past three league games against Swansea, as many as they had in their previous 12 (D4 L5).

• Swansea lost their past away league game against Ipswich in November 2023, but have not lost on consecutive visits to Portman Road since August 1959.

• Ipswich have lost just one of their 16 home league games this season (W10 D5), and are unbeaten in 10 since a 3-0 loss to Charlton in October (W7 D3).

• Swansea have lost eight of their past 10 away league games, winning the other two against Oxford in December and Watford in January.

• Ipswich's Jack Clarke has scored three goals in his past two home league games, while five of his eight overall home goals this season have been as a substitute.

Image source, Shutterstock

Former Championship winger Jobi McAnuff believes Ipswich Town will win automatic promotion to the Premier League at the expense of Middlesbrough.

The Tractor Boys are six points behind second-placed Boro with two games in hand, while Millwall are four points back in third, having played the same number of matches as the top two.

Kim Hellberg's side have gone three games without a win, losing 3-1 to leaders Coventry before drawing at home to relegation-threatened Oxford and Leicester.

"I was really keen to see how they reacted to that [defeat by Coventry] because they were in such good form going into that game playing some brilliant football," McAnuff told the Football Daily 72+ EFL podcast.

"What you want to do after what was a disappointing result is get back on that winning run as quickly as you can, particularly with the situation and Ipswich lurking with a couple of games in hand."

McAnuff says Ipswich have resources that "other clubs do not have" with the ability to bring striker George Hirst off the bench and sign players such as Anis Mehmeti and Dan Neil in January.

"I just feel that over the course of the whole season, that will come to fruition for them," said McAnuff, who won the Championship with Reading in 2011-12.

"You talk about the manager [Kieran McKenna], so calm, he's someone who has been there, he's got promotion from the league.

"I think he is going to have a huge part to play and that then also radiates through the dressing room.

"For him and Ipswich Town, that is what is going to get them over the line. I believe they will be in the top two. I genuinely do believe that."

When asked who would drop out of the top two, McAnuff added: "I'm going to say Middlesbrough. As much as performances have been okay the last couple of games, I do think they have a little bit of an issue breaking down teams where they sit deep."