Kieran McKenna’s tenure as Ipswich Town manager has kicked off in impressive fashion, with the former Manchester United coach first overseeing consecutive victories over Wycombe Wanderers and Gillingham in his first two games at the helm after Paul Cook’s dismissal.
While they would then suffer a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers, the Tractor Boys have bounced back in style, firstly beating Accrington Stanley 2-1 at Portman Road last Saturday as Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin netted goals to overturn an early deficit.
The Suffolk outfit then made it four wins from the new boss’s five games in charge last time out, as Burns was again on the scoresheet, this time netting a brace in a 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday.
As a result of their impressive upturn in form, the Tractor Boys have quickly climbed the table, and, after an underwhelming first half to the season, they now sit just five points behind the playoff places.
While they still have far more work to do to achieve their goal of at least earning a spot in the top six, Ipswich will be full of renewed confidence and will look to make it three wins on the bounce to take another step towards the playoffs on Saturday.
They welcome a Sheffield Wednesday side who sit just a single point and place behind in the table, despite Darren Moore’s side experiencing inconsistency throughout the campaign.
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After defeats to Sunderland and Shrewsbury Town and a two-week hiatus in their schedule, the Owls returned to action in style, defeating fellow promotion-chasers Plymouth Argyle 4-2 on home turf thanks to goals from Sylla Sow, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Sam Hutchinson and Josh Windass.
Moore’s side then met Oxford United last time out, and, despite taking the lead on two separate occasions through Barry Bannan and Windass, they would eventually succumb to a 3-2 defeat as former Owls forward Sam Winnall headed in the decisive goal in the 84th minute.
While that gave their playoff hopes a further hit, the Yorkshire outfit remain just four points behind the top six with games in hand on most of the sides above them, and a victory on Saturday over a rival in the table would act as a huge positive swing for the Owls in their search for an immediate return to England’s second tier
