Norwich City column: David Wagner’s side can dent Ipswich Town’s automatic-promotion push at Carrow Road
As painful as it has been to witness from this side of the border, you have to give Ipswich Town huge credit for what has been an unbelievable season.
The Tractor Boys have surpassed all expectations and, despite riding their luck at times, deserve the praise that has been aimed in their direction.
But let’s be honest, those plaudits will count for nothing should they fail to finish the job and achieve promotion to the Premier League.
The first hurdle standing in their way is the small matter of an East Anglian derby against a Norwich City side whose Carrow Road form has been impeccable of late.
Victory against Plymouth on Good Friday means we have picked up 32 points out of a possible 36 from our last 12 home games – a staggering run of form which has propelled us into play-off contention.
As a result, I feel very different heading into Saturday's game than I did for the encounter at Portman Road back in December.
That day, I honestly felt like we were going to be swallowed up by Kieran McKenna's side. But our boys stood up to the task and escaped with a hard-fought point.
This time, I genuinely see no reason why we can't turn over our Suffolk neighbours and put a real dent in their promotion charge. But this game is also about us.
Three points would solidify our place in the top six and heap the pressure on the likes of Hull, Preston and Coventry – all of whom face challenging games later in the afternoon.
We certainly have the ability to do it. As controversial as it may sound, we have as much – if not more – quality in our team. The challenge once again is to match the impressive work-rate and attitude of our Suffolk opponents.
There is no doubt this is the most significant derby – for both teams – since the 2015 play-offs.
And we all know how that one turned out…