Scouting Report: Reading FC vs Ipswich Town

The Manager

Ipswich’s current manager is Bryan Klug. The 57-year-old is in caretaker charge following the departure of Mick McCarthy a few weeks ago. Klug has previously managed the Ipswich Under-18s, as well as being the U18s co-ordinator. He has also been at Tottenham in the same role. Before being appointed caretaker manager, Klug was Ipswich’s academy director.

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images

This is Klug’s first experience at managing a first-team in any division.

Playing Style

Klug currently has set up with a 3-5-2 formation, based around a mixture of passing and direct football. Over the course of the campaign, almost all of which was under McCarthy, Ipswich have tended send a lot of crosses into the box (2.1 per game) for the likes of Joe Gardner and Martyn Waghorn to feed off from.

With the Tractor Boys deploying a five man in midfield, the away side will likely try and frustrate Reading, by congesting the middle of the park. This will therefore be a key area into which team comes out on top.

Top Scorer

Ipswich’s current leading scorer is Martyn Waghorn, who has scored 14 goals in 42 appearances. The striker has had a very good season for the Tractor Boys having made the move from Rangers last summer.

Club Captain & Longest Serving Player

The Tractor Boys’ current captain is Luke Chambers, who has been at the club since completing a move from Nottingham Forest in July 2012. He has gone on to make 279 appearances, scoring 15 goals.

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images

By contrast, Ipswich’s current longest serving player is Luke Hyam. The 26-year-old has been at the club throughout his playing career having come through the Tractor Boys’ academy. He has played 146 times for the club, scoring just three goals.

Key Man

The key man that Reading fans will need to keep an eye on is Bartosz Bialkowski, the goalkeeper has a had fantastic season in the Ipswich goal making some fantastic saves, as his side look to finish mid-table.

Bialkowski has made an average 3.4 saves per game, for context this is more than what Vito Mannone has managed to average 3.2. When you see where both sides are in the Championship table, it could be argued that Bialkowski performances in goal have earned Ipswich crucial points this season.

His performances caught the eye of Crystal Palace who were rumoured to be interested in signing him in the January transfer window, before eventually Bialkowski signed a new contract.

Most recently, the goalkeeper was called up to the Poland squad for the first time in his career and made his debut for his country against Nigeria in March. Either way, he will provide a stern test for Reading’s strikers and could be the difference between the Royals winning or losing this important match.

Likely Line-Up

Following Ipwich’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa last time out, Bryan Klug is expected to make a few changes to his side. Grant Ward is suspended having been sent off against Villa, whilst Joe Garner is out with a head injury.

Here’s how Ipswich could line-up (3-5-2):

Bartosz Bialkowski; Jordan Spence, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jonas Knudsen; Mustapha Carayol, Luke Hyam, Cole Skuse, Tristan Nydam, Myles Kenlock; Bersant Celina Martyn Waghorn