IpswichIpswich Townvs.Spartak Trnava

Kieran McKenna's side will continue their preparations for a return to the Championship this coming season after a second-placed finish in League One last term.

Match preview

Ipswich headed into the new pre-season campaign on a high ahead of their return to the Championship, having sealed automatic promotion from League One last time around.

In their fourth consecutive season in England's third tier, the Tractor Boys set out for a top-two finish under Kieran McKenna, and they eventually managed to do so, ending with 98 points from their 46 outings while boasting the league's best records at both ends of the pitch.

In a 2-2 draw away at Fleetwood Town on the final day, the Suffolk outfit surpassed the 100-goal mark, while they finished with just 35 goals conceded, two fewer than the third tier's next best defensive outfit.

They would then return to action at the beginning of July and meet Felixstowe & Walton United in their first pre-season friendly, coming out as 6-0 winners as Freddie Ladapo hit a brace alongside goals from Sone Aluko, Kyle Edwards, Kayden Jackson and Panutche Camara, before taking on Maidenhead United last Friday and scoring a narrow 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Marcus Harness and Ladapo.

Having now flown to Austria for a camp as their preparations for the Championship term ramp up, and with the squad set to be split over Saturday's two friendlies, McKenna will hope to see his side continue building confidence with another friendly triumph when they meet Spartak Trnava.

Their opponents, meanwhile, have four friendlies under their belt, after heading into pre-season on the back of a third-placed finish in the Slovak Super Liga.

Spartak Trnava found themselves third at the end of the regular domestic season, with 40 points on the board from their 22 outings, seven and eight points behind second-placed Slovan Bratislava and leaders DAC Dunajska Streda respectively, securing a place in the Championship group as a result, in a season in which they also won the Slovak Cup, toppling Slovan Bratislava in the final at the beginning of May with a 3-1 triumph.

In their 10 further games after the division split, the White Angels managed 12 further points to fend off Podbrezova seal the third-placed finish, confirming a place in Europa Conference League qualifying as a result, and before entering that in the second round later in July, Michal Gasparik's side returned to action in friendlies late last month, kicking off with a 3-1 defeat away at Rijeka and a 1-1 draw with Hajduk Split.

The Slovakian outfit then scored a first pre-season victory as they beat Wisla Plock 2-1, before travelling to Austria last week and beginning with a tough test against Sturm Graz, who dished out a 4-0 beating on home soil.

With the first leg of their Europa Conference League qualifying tie against Auda looming in less than two weeks, Spartak Trnava will now hope to build some confidence in the camp and score a victory against English opposition in Austria on Saturday.

Ipswich Town friendly form:

Spartak Trnava friendly form:

Team News

With two friendlies taking place on the same day, we can expect Kieran McKenna to split his squad and senior players evenly in Austria, with a deep squad all vying for the manager's favour ahead of the Championship campaign.

The teams for the two different halves against Maidenhead could give an indication as to how they will line up in the different matches this weekend, with Harry Clarke, Dominic Ball, Cameron Burgess and Greg Leigh potentially lining up in a back four behind the midfield pairing of Lee Evans and Cameron Humphreys.

The Tractor Boys recently announced the permanent signing of George Hirst, who helped them win promotion in a loan spell for the second half of last term, but he has not joined the side out in Austria, with the attack again set to be led by Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead on Saturday.

Ahead of the new term and their bid to reach the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, Spartak Trnava are without last season's star man Abdulrahman Taiwo, who has returned to SonderjyskE after a successful loan spell, in which he netted 19 goals in 27 appearances for the White Angels.

Samuel Stefanik plays a key role in midfield, and will likely take up more responsibility going forward after contributing eight goals last season, with Jakub Paur and Martin Bukata having joined him in the engine room for large parts of the previous campaign.

Following the departure of their top scorer, the likes of Milan Ristovski, Erik Daniel and Kelvin Ofori will fight for the manager's favour in attack, as will Philip Azango who arrived at the club at the beginning of July.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Hladky; Clarke, Ball, Burgess, Leigh; Evans, Humphreys; Burns, Broadhead, Jackson; Chaplin

Spartak Trnava possible starting lineup:

Rusov; Kostrna, Stetina, Kosa, Mikovic; Paur, Bukata, Stefanik; Ofori, Ristovski, Azango

We say: Ipswich Town 2-2 Spartak Trnava

With both sides ramping up their pre-season preparations ahead of important campaigns, we envisage an open and entertaining contest on Saturday and see them both troubling the opposition defences.

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