Ipswich preview

Thanks to my unhealthy obsession with Charlton, I'm one of the few people who'd rather be in Suffolk tomorrow night, than in beautiful Paris where I am spending a couple of nights on business. Thus unfortunately I will be forced to give one of our most convenient away games a miss.

There were certainly some promising signs during the second half on Saturday, but the first half was so extraordinarily dire that one can't simply dismiss it as an anomaly.

Pardew's team selection will be especially interesting, as he will surely be tempted to opt for the seemingly 'safer' options of the likes of Matt Holland. This would be a mistake despite Ipswich's usually admirable home form.

Most fans will be looking most keenly for Luke Varney's name on the teamsheet (or absence thereon), because patience is running out with our misfiring ever-present striker. Some might argue that dropping him achieves nothing, and of course if Pards persists with him then eventually he will score. But what will the team overall lose by doing so in the meantime?

A spell on the bench, perhaps with his pace unveiled with 15-20 mins to go would seem an ideal way of taking some pressure off his shoulders. In the meantime, either Izale McLeod or Chris Dickson deserves a proper go, if only by virtue of Varney running out of chances.

The fixture list has strangely reversed the fixtures in just over three weeks, but Ipswich will go into the game with greater confidence given they are unbeaten since our 2-1 victory, our last.

This is the type of tricky away fixture which we need to show we have the courage to take something from. Pards too ought to show the courage to pick virtually the same somewhat inexperienced side that finished the game on Saturday.

I hope he selects as follows: Weaver, Moutaouakil, Basey, Cranie, Hudson, Bailey, Wright, Sam, Bouazza, Todorov, McLeod. Subs: Elliot, Semedo, Holland, Varney, Ambrose.

NY Addick predicts: Ipswich 2 (Lisbie, Counago), Charlton 1 (Todorov). Att: 20, 082.