Towards the start of 2023, Ipswich Town versus Bristol Rovers was amazingly a League One fixture, with the Tractor Boys very much a sleeping giant for the third tier.
Now, the two teams face off against each other in the FA Cup later today with the Gas still deep in the lowly division whilst Ipswich now face off against the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League away from focusing on the twists and turns of the EFL.
Kieran McKenna will know his team cannot underestimate the visitors from Bristol however, having been on the receiving end of a major Cup upset early last year when non-league Maidstone United came to town, as the minnows from Kent pulled off a monumental 2-1 win.
But, with the main priority being Premier League safety in Suffolk, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a number of first-team faces rested, hopeful that the reserve personnel picked can still secure a straightforward victory.
Players McKenna could look to rest vs Bristol
The first switch could see Liam Delap dropped from the XI, with McKenna not wanting to overwork his main source of goals against League One opposition.
Indeed, the ex-Manchester City man has been a mainstay of his manager’s Premier League lineups and rightly so, with a mightily impressive goal tally of eight strikes next to his name from those constant appearances.
With Delap also piquing the interest of Chelsea this transfer window, it’s unlikely he would want to overexert himself against the Gas, knowing an injury knock could trouble a potential move away.
Other key faces such as Leif Davis might well also be given a rare off-day, with the former Leeds United left-back starting every single Premier League game available to him this season.
Moving back to the lone striker spot, however, there is one reserve figure at Portman Road who would lap up an opportunity to start over Delap, with the aim of trying to prove his worth to the cause and perhaps stop Ipswich from feeling they have to fork out excessive millions this January on a fresh centre-forward.
The "unreal" star who could shine in for Delap
The attacker in question here is Ali Al-Hamadi, who has averaged just 13 minutes of Premier League action this season from his 11 appearances, zero of which have been starts.
Obviously, Delap’s space in the XI is as concrete as it could possibly be, but Al-Hamadi will still feel frustrated by his lack of minutes, having impressed last campaign when joining in January from League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon.
The Iraq international would fire home four strikes from 14 league outings for the Tractor Boys when utilised late on in games, with the former Dons man not struggling at all with the immense jump up in quality from the fourth tier to the league just below the Premier League.
Once labelled as an “unreal” talent to watch by football analyst Tom Williams when he was regularly firing them in for Wimbledon in the lower depths of the EFL, he could receive a much-needed boost in confidence facing off against Inigo Calderon’s men, knowing full well he has what it takes to outclass teams of Bristol Rovers’ standards.
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Ipswich
26
5
1
AFC Wimbledon
48
27
8
Wycombe Wanderers
13
1
0
Bromley
10
3
0
Sourced by Transfermarkt
It’s clear from the table above that there is a dangerous striker inside Al-Hamadi, with a devastating 27 strikes managed for the Dons, as he goes about trying to prove his worth still to McKenna even as he begins to be linked with a loan move away.
He could gifted that chance later today, with a positive performance from the forgotten-about 22-year-old perhaps making the Tractor Boys think twice about splashing out wads of cash on targets such as £30m man Igor Jesus, knowing they have competent cover for Delap already at home.
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