Ipswich Town

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Puma's Rainbow ball will return to the English Football League as part of an on-going campaign against discrimination and homophobia.

The special edition rainbow ball was introduced in 2024 to mark LGBTQ+ History Month and will be used at every EFL game from 20 February until 1 March.

Manufacturers Puma will make a donation to Football v Homophobia for every goal scored with their rainbow ball across the Championship, League One and League Two.

The donations will help support education against homophobia and promote inclusion across the season.

The EFL have released a video, external to coincide with the campaign which features a Preston North End fan who was charged with a hate crime following homophobic chanting during an FA Cup fixture against Chelsea.

The rainbow ball will also feature in EFL partner EA Sports' FC 26 video game.

"The rainbow ball is a powerful symbol of the values we uphold across the EFL all season long," EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch said.

"It not only reflects our longstanding commitment to ensuring the League is representative of all its diverse communities, but also reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating an environment in which everyone feels they truly belong."

Pundits Ellen White and Shay Given join host Alex Scott to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Hull City 0-4 Chelsea

• Wrexham 1-0 Ipswich

• Burton Albion 0-1 West Ham

• Manchester City 2-0 Salford City

• Aston Villa 1-3 Newcastle

• Liverpool 3-0 Brighton and Hove Albion

There are two ties on Friday as the FA Cup fourth round gets under way, and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Hull City v Chelsea - BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Humberside

• Wrexham v Ipswich Town - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3, BBC Radio Wales & BBC Radio Suffolk

Kick-offs 19:45 GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Hull v Chelsea" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Wrexham v Ipswich".

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

How to follow the FA Cup fourth round on the BBC

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Defender Ben Johnson says he has never considered leaving Ipswich Town despite being short of game time for the first team this season.

The 26-year-old hopes to play against Wrexham in Friday evening's FA Cup tie in North Wales having started against Blackpool in the previous round.

It was one of 11 appearances he has made this season but he has not had a start in the Championship since early November.

"I really enjoy being at Ipswich. Off the back of a relegation, we've still held on to really good players and this could be the season that we get promoted - we're working so hard towards it," Johnson told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"It's something I want to be a part of. I've been blessed enough to win things in my career and if I could get promoted with Ipswich, at such a historic club, then I'd definitely look back on that with a lot of joy and pride.

"I came back to pre-season wanting to stay and wanting to get Ipswich promoted back to the Premier League."

Johnson expects a tough game against Hollywood-backed Wrexham, who, he says are "a group put together really well by the owners".

He added: "A Friday night under the lights in an FA Cup fixture is one we'll be relishing but they'll be relishing as well, especially with playing them next week [in the league]. They're riding high on momentum - look at their last three or four seasons, back-to-back promotions, and they're looking to do another one."

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says their upcoming fixture schedule is "unparalleled" compared to other teams in the Championship.

The Tractor Boys have already made three journeys this season for away games which had to be rearranged.

Town's Championship fixture at Portsmouth has been postponed twice - first because of a frozen surface on 4 January and then again on 3 February because of a waterlogged pitch.

Ipswich also played 79 minutes at Blackburn in September before the game was called off when heavy rainfall made the pitch unplayable and they had to replay the match at Ewood Park in December.

"We know the schedule that we've had over the last couple of months," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk before their FA Cup fourth-round tie at Wrexham.

"We know the schedule that we have coming up is unparalleled really in terms of the other teams in the league.

"We have games to catch up. We've had two trips to Portsmouth and one to Blackburn this year that had to be repeated.

"We know we've got an awful amount of games and trips to come in the months ahead and really important goals there."

McKenna's side will play eight games in the next 29 days, with the potential for another to be added should they reach the FA Cup fifth round, which would see their league game against Leicester on 7 March rearranged.

"There's no doubt, to be honest, we will utilise the squad [at Wrexham]. Players will come in, have an opportunity to play, to get minutes to impress," McKenna added.

"It's always a nice change when you get to the FA Cup week to be honest, especially when you're in a season like us where you're sort of really thinking about your goal in the league.

"The FA Cup provides a nice change of focus. The boys are looking forward to that, looking forward to a game in a different competition."

Image source, Opta

Wrexham welcome Championship promotion rivals Ipswich to the Stok Cae Ras in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night (19:45 GMT).

The Red Dragons are sixth, three places below the Tractor Boys, FA Cup winners in 1978.

Phil Parkinson's side are winless in their past three home games while Kieran McKenna's Town have taken seven points from their past four games on the road.

• This will be just the second time that Wrexham and Ipswich Town have met in the FA Cup; the Welsh side won 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground in the third round in the 1994/95 season.

• Ipswich Town have faced Welsh opposition four times in the FA Cup, progressing from three of those; their 2-1 defeat vs Wrexham in January 1995 the only exception.

• Wrexham will be looking to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1996/97, a season during which they beat Peterborough United 4-2 in the fourth round before losing 1-0 at the quarter-final stage against Chesterfield.

• Ipswich have been eliminated from 10 of their past 12 FA Cup fourth round ties, though did win at this stage last season when they defeated Coventry City 4-1 away from home.

• Wrexham are unbeaten across their past nine home FA Cup proper ties (W5 D4), since a 2-1 defeat to Oxford United in the second round in December 2013. Each of the Welsh side's last five home games in the competition have seen them score 3+ goals.

Image source, Shutterstock

Ipswich Town midfielder Jack Taylor says the current team should not be compared with the one which won promotion from the Championship two years ago.

Taylor is one of only a handful of players who were part of the side which reached the Premier League by finishing second with 96 points - their second successive promotion.

They are well placed in the automatic promotion race with Saturday's 2-1 win at Derby keeping them third in the table, five points behind second-placed Coventry, but with a game in hand.

"I don't think you can compare. The squad is completely different, if you look at all the players that have left and the players that have come in, it's a different profile so difficult to judge on that," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"Talent-wise, I'd say (there's) probably a little bit more now but the group we had at the time, we knew our jobs and the team didn't really rotate as much as it does this year."

He added: "The season we went up two years ago, teams didn't expect us to play how we did and came after us a little bit more - now we're playing against teams that are low blocking and getting bodies behind the ball, which is harder to break down.

"And we're expected to win every game now in the Championship, which is completely different to two years ago. That's the challenge we've got ahead of us."

Ipswich take a break from league action on Friday when they visit Wrexham in the FA Cup fourth round.

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna was full of praise for his side - and substitute Kasey McAteer's contribution - following the 2-1 win over in-form Derby County.

McAteer laid on the winner with a wonderful far-post cross for Leif Davis, who headed home an equally brilliant winner,

McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk: "I really enjoyed that one, maybe more than many games this year, and we've had some really good wins.

"We played some really good football - the first goal was a bit lucky but we should have been two or three up.

"We gave away a poor penalty when I didn't think they looked like scoring, but [we] had to show a response, and it was a brilliant response.

"He [McAteer] has been taking big strides in training. He has been doing really well, taking steps forward.

"We think there is a lot more to come from him, and, of course, when you get an assist like that for a winning goal, that is a big boost for him that I think has been coming. Really happy with his impact, and the other subs as well."

Ipswich Town identified Millwall winger Femi Azeez as a potential signing during the transfer window but could not progress a deal, says head coach Kieran McKenna.

The Suffolk club signed Bristol City forward Anis Mehmeti for an undisclosed fee and Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil on loan as they challenge for an immediate return to the Premier League.

"I know he's [Azeez] a player the club have monitored for a while and likes and felt he could bring some different qualities to the squad, but in the end he's a Millwall player and wasn't attainable so we crack on as we are," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk.

Ipswich also allowed forward Sammie Szmodics (Derby), full-back Harry Clarke (Charlton) and midfielder Cameron Humphreys (Huddersfield) to leave on loan with McKenna comfortable with the exit of Szmodics.

"It's clear from a football perspective where Sammie is and what he's done. He had a positive first half of the season with us in the Premier League scoring four goals by Christmas," said McKenna.

"He's had two big injuries in the calendar year that have held him back a little bit but in the end it wasn't a football decision down to his performance. It was made in the best interests of our group dynamic, our dressing-room culture and the values of our dressing room and our team."

Ipswich are fourth in the Championship table and visit Derby on Saturday (12:31 GMT).

Image source, Opta

There's a big game in the Championship promotion race on Saturday lunchtime as Derby welcome Ipswich to Pride Park (12:31 GMT).

The Rams like seventh, two points outside the play-off places and six points below the Tractor Boys, who start the day fourth, seven points outside the automatic promotion spots, though still with a game in hand on the sides above them.

Derby's 5-0 romp at Bristol City on Friday was their third straight away win, but they have won just one of their past eight home games in all competitions.

Ipswich salvaged a late point against Preston on Saturday but though they have a good record at Derby of late, Town have won only one of their past six on their travels.

• Derby are winless in their past four league games against Ipswich (D2 L2) since a 2-0 home win in August 2018.

• Ipswich have won four of their past five away league games against Derby (L1), keeping a clean sheet in each victory.

• Derby have won just one of their past seven home league games (D3 L3), beating Middlesbrough 1-0 on New Year's Day.

• Ipswich have won just one of their past six away league games (D2 L3), beating league leaders Coventry City 2-0 in December.

• Derby have scored in each of their past 20 league games, last having a longer scoring streak between November 1975 and April 1976 in the top-flight (21).

Graeme McLoughlin
BBC Radio Suffolk sport

Image source, Shutterstock

It feels harsh saying it because Ipswich Town have not been quiet this month, but by not bringing in a striker many supporters will have felt underwhelmed when the transfer window closed.

Players with guaranteed goals are hard to find in January, especially on the cheap, but Town have had success previously at this time of year. They brought in both Kieffer Moore and George Hirst during winter windows, with both players having a big impact on the club's rise from League One to the Premier League.

Hirst, who joined on loan in January 2023 before making the move to Portman Road permanent, has been struggling to recapture his best form of late, and his main competition comes from Como loanee Ivan Azon, who is also short of goals and experiencing English football for the first time.

There is therefore a popular opinion that a proven number nine could well have been the difference between Kieran McKenna's side achieving play-off football this May, or earning automatic promotion.

However, in the previous runs to promotion, Town's top goalscorers were Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead, neither of whom play at centre forward.

Town have brought in a goal threat in Anis Mehmeti from Bristol City, who at 25 could have a lot to offer the Blues going forward. That said, there is a lot of competition for places in his area of the field.

The loan signing of Dan Neil from Sunderland could be a very shrewd move. The midfielder brings leadership and control, and has been a proven winner at Sunderland. Like Mehmeti, Neil's best years in football ought to be ahead of him, and if the next few months go well he could be in line for an extended stay at Portman Road.

Supporters who feared that double-promotion winner Wes Burns might move on in January can breathe easier. The Welsh international has made an impressive comeback following a near year-long injury lay-off, and appears to be first choice again on the right wing.

Sammie Szmodics has moved on, and his loan switch to Derby County suits all parties. Injuries have blighted the 30-year-old's stay at Ipswich, and he will hope to find his way again under John Eustace with whom he enjoyed good times at Blackburn.

Other outgoing loans in Harry Clarke and Cameron Humphreys have also made sense, with both players enjoying regular game time at Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town respectively, which they would not have received with their parent club.

Image source, Shutterstock

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has backed striker George Hirst to "stick at it" for the team in the remaining months of the Championship season.

Town did not sign any senior outfield players on transfer deadline day despite many believing additional firepower was needed.

Even though the Tractor Boys are third in the table, Hirst, Ivan Azon and Chuba Akpom have only scored 10 goals between them.

"He'd probably stand up himself and say it's probably not been his best run but he's a tough character and he's done well for us every season in every division," McKenna told BBC Radio Suffolk, when asked about Hirst.

"He just has to keep going and get in the right positions, do the right things in training and in games. I don't think there's a striker in history who hasn't had a period like that but he'll stick at it and he has a part to play for sure."

Ipswich were due to start a run of four successive away games in league and cup at Portsmouth on Tuesday evening, but the game was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.