Against the backdrop of the increasingly severe relegation situation in the Premier League, Ipswich coach Kieran McKenna admitted that the team is currently in an "extremely difficult" situation. At the weekend, Ipswich will be visiting St. James' Park and face a strong opponent Newcastle. It is very likely that Ipswich will confirm its relegation fate in advance.

Although the team has not been completely eliminated in mathematical terms, the reality is cruel: with 5 games left, the team is 15 points behind West Ham United and is far behind in goal difference. As long as they lose to Newcastle in this round, or West Ham United gets 1 point away from Brighton, Ipswich will return to the Championship.

The injury wave is eating into McKenna's already thin squad, with midfield core Kalvin Phillips, Broadhead, Sammy Smodix and defender Connor Townsend all facing injury problems.

Left back Leif Davis received a red card for a dangerous tackle on Saka in the last round against Arsenal and will serve a three-match ban. Striker Liam Delap played with an injury and came on as a substitute in the last two rounds. It is still a question whether he can play in this round.

McKenna admitted at the pre-match press conference that the shortage of players has become the biggest problem at the moment: "Our current squad situation is indeed very difficult. I will not list the specific injuries of each player one by one, because if I continue to talk about it, Newcastle will know who else we can play."

"We are trying our best to put together a competitive lineup and try to perform at our best on the road."

"We may use a number of young players from the academy at this stage, and they may get opportunities this weekend and in the next few weeks. This will be a valuable training for them."