Ipswich Town’s only win in February came in the FA Cup as a much-changed Tractor Boys XI got the better of Frank Lampard’s Coventry City away from home.
Kieran McKenna will be hoping March follows suit in gifting his side a well-needed victory, but it will be a lot trickier than the away trip to the Sky Blues was as Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest awaits at the City Ground.
There will be many selection dilemmas for McKenna to address ahead of this tie, with a whole host of first-teamers perhaps worried their spots will be taken up by fresh blood, including an often hot-and-cold Jack Clarke.
McKenna's Ipswich selection dilemma before Forest
Clarke has shown brief glimpses of his star quality donning Tractor Boys blue this season, with his showing last time out in the esteemed competition seeing him pick up a goal and two assists in a straightforward 4-1 win.
But, with Sammie Szmodics now back and ready for some minutes, the break from the Premier League could be the perfect opportunity for McKenna to gift his attacking midfielder a chance to impress now he’s out of the treatment room.
After all, whilst the ex-Sunderland man did cause the Sky Blues all sorts of bother, those performances have been rare this campaign overall.
Whereas, his former Blackburn Rovers counterpart has four goals to boast about in the more hostile environment of the top flight and will be raring to go again after his unfortunate injury lay-off.
Hailed as “ridiculous” by football journalist Josh Bunting after his golden boot heroics in the Championship, he could be the breath of fresh air needed to pull off a shock away at Forest, with an equally exciting attacker also in the frame for a first-team chance owing to Omari Hutchinson’s untimely knock.
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Ipswich’s forlorn manager recently revealed that Hutchinson has sustained ‘heavy damage’ to his shin after the frantic 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, meaning he will be unlikely to play in any capacity against Forest.
This could open the door for Nathan Broadhead to unsettle Nuno Santo’s hosts, with the injury-prone attacker putting in bright displays from the substitutes bench in recent weeks and could now be bumped up to the first-team picture even more due to a lack of numbers.
Indeed, Brighton and Hove Albion loanee Julio Enciso – who is racing to be fit for Ipswich’s next league test versus Crystal Palace – finds himself out of contention here as he is cup-tied, meaning the ex-Everton youngster’s moment in the spotlight might now arrive.
After all, from just 16 minutes of action away at Anfield back in late January, the £6k-per-week Broadhead looked completely fearless with all three of his dribbles successfully pulled off, with an assist also coming his way in the FA Cup this season from two outings.
Championship
60
18
4
League One
58
20
8
Premier League
12
0
0
FA Cup
8
0
3
He has excelled as a creative force in the competition in the past too, away from that one assist this campaign, with Broadhead no doubt hungry to break his 2024/25 goalscoring duck if given an opportunity from the get-go, perhaps gaining some inspiration after seeing Jaden Philogene bag twice away at Man United.
It could well be a scramble to get Szmodics, Philogene and Broadhead all in the same line-up, but if McKenna was to revert back to his trusty 4-2-3-1 look, it could see Broadhead deployed down his preferred left flank, the ex-Aston Villa man down the right, with Szmodics just behind the lone striker providing chances and adding to the firepower.
The FA Cup, of course, won’t be a major priority, but if Ipswich were to reach the quarter-finals, some smiles would be raised in Suffolk before the battle against relegation kicks back off.
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