Ipswich Town v Swansea City - Match Preview

FA Cup - Ipswich Town v The Swans

Some say the FA Cup has lost it's magic, but try telling that to Swans fans, who will once again be out in force as they travel to see the boys take on Ipswich Town in the FA Cup 4th round, knowing that a win will give them an almighty chance of drawing one of the big boys in round 5. Ipswich fans will no doubt be feeling the same though, and a very tough encounter awaits the Swans, who will have to be at their best to gain a positive result on Saturday. This is the Swans' 9th consecutive away tie in the FA Cup.

THE OPPOSITION - IPSWICH TOWN

Ipswich Town, nicknamed the Blues or the Tractor Boys, have a proud history.

They won the old 1st division in 1961-62 in their first season as a top flight club, under the management of the great Alf Ramsey. They've also finished runners up in the 1st division on 2 occasions, in 1980-81 and 1981-82 under the management of Sir Bobby Robson, who also led them to FA Cup glory in 1978, when they beat Arsenal 1-0 at Wembley. As well as this FA Cup success, they also won the UEFA Cup in 1981, beating AZ Alkmaar of Holland over 2 legs.

Ipswich's more recent history has seen them relegated from the Premiership in 1993-94. In their 1st season back in division 1, they narrowly missed out on the play-offs, but for the following 3 seasons they did make the play-offs, only to lose on every occasion. But they were not to be denied, and at the 4th time of asking, they beat Barnsley 4-2 at Wembley to signal a return to the top flight.

In their first season back they defied the odds and finished 5th, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Unfortunately for them, the next season was a disaster, which saw them finish 3rd from bottom of the Premiership, and relegation back to the 1st division. Back in the 1st division, they finished 7th, but the next season they reached the play-offs, only to lose to West Ham. Ironically, it was again West Ham who beat Ipswich the following season in the Play-Offs. Last season Ipswich finished 15th, resulting in the departure of boss Joe Royle. Former skipper Jim Magilton took over as manager as only the 12th manager of the football club.

Ipswich currently lie 15th in the Championship.

ONE TO WATCH - GAVIN WILLIAMS

Gavin Williams will need no introduction to Swans fans. The 26 year old midfielder is a self confessed Cardiff fan and of course the player that did the 'Ayatollah' in front of the North Bank at the Vetch while playing for Yeovil. Despite these serious blemishes on his CV, he is in fact a very good footballer aswell, and ironically enough we have enquired about signing him, before being put off by the £1m price tag. £1m? Ipswich paid West Ham £350,000 and now they want to get rid of him, so how has the price gone up by £650,000?! I think someone's taking the mick there! He has also played for Hereford, and made 2 appearances for the Welsh international side. Despite falling out of favour with manager Jim Magilton at Ipswich, he still played last weekend in their 3-2 win over Colchester, and is a likely starter again on Saturday.

FORM GUIDE

The Swans go into the match on the back of an easy 2-0 win over Gilllignham, and currently lie 6th in League 1, aswell as 7th in the form table for league 1 based on the last 6 matches. We have only lost 2 out of our last 13 league matches, picking up 6 wins and drawing the other 5. Away from home the Swans have been wasteful, throwing away 3 points at Huddersfield and Bradford in recent weeks due to late goals being conceded. Overall though the Swans are in good spirits and performances over the last few months have definitely been getting steadily better.

Ipswich occupy 15th spot in the Championship. Last Saturday they won a thrilling encounter at home to Colchester 3-2, played in front of 28,355, their biggest home gate of the season. They are in relatively good form overall, lying 11th in the Championship form table. This season they have taken 26 points from a possible 45 at home, and have only lost 1 at home since early November.

TEAM NEWS

Darren Pratley made his comeback from injury as a 2nd half substitute in the win against the Gills on Tuesday. He is almost certain to replace Ian Craney in central midfield, who is cup tied. Kevin Austin is suspended for picking up his 5th yellow card during last Saturday's 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest, and Izzy may well replace him. New signing Pawel Abbott is available for selection having not played in the competition for Huddersfield, so Jackett must choose any 2 from Abbott, Akinfenwa and Trundle, unless of course he plays the 4-51 which was so effective against Sheff Utd in the last round. Also Tom Butler is rated a 50-50 chance to start after picking up a thigh muscle injury on Tuesday. Robbo is on standby to replace him.

Ipswich have serious problems in defence. Captain Jason De Vos is out for 6 weeks with a broken foot, Alex Bruce is suspended, Ian Miller is cup tied, and David Wright is suspended after being sent off against Colchester. Midfielder Owen Garvan is doubtful after missing the last 2 games with a foot injury.

VIEW FROM THE SWANS CAMPS

Swansea City boss Kenny Jackett sees no reason why his side can't cause another FA Cup upset at Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Jackett takes his side to Portman Road looking for another ''big'' cup performance against the Championship outfit to put Swansea's name in the hat for Monday's (1.30pm) fifth round draw.

While Ipswich will start as favourites, Jackett is determined to keep their cup run going.

"It's a big hurdle to overcome, but there's no reason why we can't go to Ipswich and give a good account of ourselves. Ipswich are a good footballing side with good players, but I used to enjoy going to Portman Road as a player and I'm looking forward to going there as a manager. We've had a good cup run, in one competition or another, every season I've been here. It generates a good profile, financial rewards and enjoyment for the fans, myself and the players. I'd like to keep the run going.''

Meanwhile, Andy Robinson is looking forward to the game and insists the Swans can win it at Portman Road.

"''This is winnable game,'' said Robinson. 'Hopefully we will take a good crowd and enjoy the day. It is the big games that you remember, and It hurts when you get any kind of injury and miss a game. I didn't go to Sheffield. I went home to Birkenhead to see my family but I was watching the scores come in on Soccer Saturday like a fan. The lads did extremely well that day. Before that game all the press were talking about us having 11 players out, but that just goes to show the squad that we have here.''

THE GROUND - PORTMAN ROAD

Swans fans can get a detailed description of Portman Road by visiting www.footballgroundguide.co.uk It also gives directions to the ground and parking advice. Fans should be advised that parts of the A12 will be closed on Saturday.

VERDICT

The Swans will be underdogs on Saturday, but that suits us just fine.

Ipswich like to play football and that will suit us. Their defence is the 7th worst in the Championship, and with their injuries on top of that, I can see the likes of Trundle, Bayo, Abbott, Robinson and Britton having a field day. We like to let in a goal ourselves, so because of that it will be close, but I'm going for a 2-1 victory for the Swans. If you fancy a bet on that score line you can get 12/1 with Ladbrokes, or even better a 3-2 win for the Swans is 40/1.

We will be backed by around 2,500 Jacks, who will no doubt lift the roof off Portman Road just like we did at Sheffield Utd. A win will give us a hell of a chance of a big tie in the next round, so get behind the boys as always, and most important of all, have a safe trip.

JACKARMY!