Ipswich Town has to use their disadvantage as motivation to distance themselves from rival

Football supporters all throughout England should be able to exhale with relief this weekend.

The November international break will end over the course of the next few days, and club football’s drama and excitement will return.

This is the time of year when things usually really start to get up, which is something that football fans often look forward to. There won’t be any more breaks for the national team football issue until March.

But come this Saturday, not every team will be starting their campaign at precisely the same moment due to problems like TV scheduling. Ipswich Town could be at a disadvantage as a result.

How could this weekend’s scheduling work against Ipswich?

After being promoted from League One at the conclusion of the previous season, the Tractor Boys have had a fantastic debut in the Championship.

With two points apiece from league leaders Leicester City, Kieran McKenna’s team is currently second in the rankings and may be dreaming of a Premier League comeback.

They will have to wait until this weekend, though, as they head to The Hawthorns to play West Brom in front of the Sky Sports cameras. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Because of this, by the time they play, Leeds United may be putting a lot of pressure on Ipswich.

After 16 games this season, the Whites themselves are currently eighth points behind the Tractor Boys in the Championship table.

This weekend, they will also be featured on television. Their journey to Rotherham United is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday.

Because of this, Leeds has a great chance to cut the deficit on Ipswich to just five points this coming weekend, which will put pressure on the Tractor Boys ahead of their matchup with the Baggies.

In fact, most would contend that, while Leeds will undoubtedly be looking to win all three points against a managerless Rotherham team that has only won twice in the league this season, Ipswich may view a trip to West Brom—a team that has won three of its last four games and is only outside the play-offs on goal differential—as a fairly significant challenge.

The Tractor Boys’ workload might potentially be increased by any further pressure Leeds is able to put on them in the event that they defeat the Millers on Saturday.

Nevertheless, despite all of that, it is possible to argue that Ipswich can still benefit from having to play after Leeds this Saturday when they play the Baggies after the break.

Ipswich can take motivation from Leeds’ result against Rotherham, whatever it is

Even if Leeds may have the chance to get guaranteed points in the promotion fight by defeating Ipswich by playing first, the Tractor Boys will still be able to draw inspiration from the way Daniel Farke’s team finishes the match.

Naturally, Ipswich would have the chance to regain their eight-point lead the following day in that matchup with West Brom if Leeds defeats Rotherham on Friday.

Of course, with the significance of holding onto such an edge, even at this point in the season, the Tractor Boys would be under a lot of strain.

But even with that, there would be plenty of incentive to make sure they do win in order to hold onto that lead, to preserve that advantage, and to score as many points as they can early on, which might be crucial later on when the campaign’s hardships start to wear thin.

Additionally, winning would demonstrate to the division that, despite their recent return, they are a formidable force that can be reckoned with in any situation.

On the other hand, Ipswich might receive a significant boost if Leeds were to lose or draw with the Millers, as that would allow them to increase their advantage over an obvious promotion contender, even from a difficult position.

Therefore, if Leeds’ performance at The New York Stadium continues in that manner, Ipswich will have every incentive to lose to West Brom, knowing that a win there would solidify their position in the automatic promotion spots and increase pressure on the Whites in the upcoming games.

Therefore, even though Ipswich will have to settle for nervously watching Leeds win the opening game of the weekend in the promotion race, at least they will know that whatever happens in the Yorkshire derby, it will give them something important to aim for when they visit the Hawthorns in less than twenty-four hours.