By Aston
August 4 2006

STB brings you team news, manager previews and betting odds ahead of Towns game against Crystal Palace tomorrow (KO 3:00pm).

Town have just one player missing through injury, Owen Garvan is out with a blood infection. Ian Westlake has joined Leeds United but Daniel Harding and Alex Bruce are both included in the Town squad.

 

Town manager Jim Magilton: “The players have applied themselves very well in pre-season and all pushed hard for a place in the side, only 11 can obviously play but I want the others breathing down their necks for their places in the team.

 

“It's a lovely task to have, picking 11 from 20 and I'm really looking forward to getting going now and playing games.

 

“I will be surprised if Palace are not in the running for promotion at the end of the season.

 

“Peter Taylor has bought well and I'm sure they will be a dangerous side so we have to be on our toes from the first whistle.

 

“They have Scowie playing for them. He seems to come back every year with a different club and I'll shake his hand at the end of the game.”

 

Town Squad: Scott Barron, Dean Bowditch, Alex Bruce, Chris Casement, Billy Clarke, Darren Currie, Jason De Vos, Nicky Forster, Daniel Harding, Danny Haynes, Alan Lee, Richard Naylor, Sam Parkin, Jaime Peters, Lewis Price, Matt Richards, Luis Sito, Shane Supple, Gavin Williams, Fabian Wilnis.

 

Palace also have just the one injury ahead of the game, midfielder Michael Hughes has a broken arm. Leon Cort, Mark Kennedy, Matt Lawrence, Carl Fletcher and former Blue James Scowcroft could all be handed debuts by new Palace manager Peter Taylor.

 

Palace manager Peter Taylor: “All of the first matches are amazing occasions because everybody is looking forward to the season and running around at 100mph, sometimes you can get a good result and sometimes you can get a bad result.

 

“Ipswich will always be a good football team, they've got a new manager in Jim Magilton, who was an excellent midfielder himself so I'm expecting them to play football but I'm expecting us to play lots of football as well.

 

“We've lost some good players this summer, but we've signed people to replace them that I know will be good players for us, we're still looking though and we want to strengthen the squad again, but we're very happy to start the season with the players we've got.”

 

Best odds found using Sportsnetwork Odds Checker :

Town: 6/4

Draw: 9/4

Palace: 15/8

 

Sources: Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town – the official websites.

 

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