Plymouth host Ipswich on Saturday in one of 11 Championship games taking place, 12 months on from when these two were in League One, battling each other for the title, and their seasons in the Championship have been very different so far. Ipswich are in 3rd, set for the playoffs but in the automatic promotion battle, while Plymouth are 15th, probably ok, but keeping an eye on what's happening below, as they're not too far ahead.
Plymouth Form GuideIn 15th position, Plymouth sound like they're ok, but the reality is that things are very tight at the bottom, they are just five points clear of Stoke, in the relegation zone. To make matters worse, a lot of the bottom teams are finding ways to win, it won't take much for Plymouth to be dragged down into the relegation battle.
They picked up a massive three points last weekend, otherwise the gap would have been just two. It was a surprise win, a 2-0 success away from home at Middlesbrough, giving a bit of breathing room. Before that, Plymouth went four league games without a win, a sole draw against Coventry and defeats against Leeds, West Brom and Sunderland.
Plymouth Form GuideThere was talk of Ipswich wobbling for some time before Christmas, it eventually came, but given their form right now, it's safe to say they are out of it, and heading in the right direction again. Third with 72 points, they are tied with Leeds in second, but below on goal difference, and five ahead of Southampton in fourth, they've dramatically dropped off.
After an unsteady time, it's now four wins in a row for Kieran McKenna's side, the most recent being a really good 3-1 home win over Birmingham last Saturday. Before that, another home win over Rotherham and away wins at Swansea and Millwall have steadied the ship somewhat.
Match PredictionI'm backing Ipswich to make it five wins in a row here, they're back on track, in good form and can give Plymouth another defeat, and more reason to look behind them as they edge closer to the relegation zone.
