Nearly a full year into his reign as Ipswich manager, Kieran McKenna has guided the Suffolk side to within a whisker of top spot in the League One standings, and his team have lost just twice in the third tier this season.
Their push for automatic promotion was stalled last weekend, though, as the Tractor Boys let two precious points slip through their fingers when held to a 1-1 draw by Fleetwood Town.
Despite taking an early lead through Luke Woolfenden, conceding a 96th-minute equaliser denied them victory just as they seemed set to leap above league leaders Plymouth, who lost at home to Port Vale.
While Ipswich have generally impressed this term, a tendency to let leads slip will surely worry McKenna, as they also failed to fully capitalise against both Cheltenham and Charlton.
Nonetheless, another chance to surpass Plymouth awaits, with Town occupying second place in the table on 42 points – only one behind. Their encounter with fellow promotion hopefuls
Peterborough kicks off early to avoid clashing with the World Cup quarter-finals, so victory would take them to the summit for a couple of hours at least.
Having suffered a fourth successive defeat following their 2-1 reverse against Barnsley last Friday, Peterborough arrive at Portman Road in desperate search of a return to form; now only clinging on to a playoff place.
In recent weeks, Grant McCann’s men have gone out of the FA Cup, been eliminated from the EFL Trophy by Chelsea Under-21s and have lost each of their last three league games for good measure.
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Though Posh pulled themselves level through Jack Taylor’s 21st-minute strike after conceding an early goal last time out, they were unable to keep Barnsley at bay after the interval – leaving McCann leading the chorus of criticism directed at his faltering squad.
The ex-Hull boss kept his players locked in the dressing room for more than an hour following that result, and pressure is building on him to turn things around.
Already 11 points adrift of Ipswich in the race for automatic promotion, Peterborough cannot afford to let that gap grow this weekend. However, a dismal record of seven defeats from 10 away fixtures so far suggests they will be hard-pressed to take home even a single point
