Second-in-the-table Town face familiar foes Plymouth Argyle on Saturday as they aim to maintain their extraordinary start to life back in the Championship.

The Pilgrims claimed the League One title last season, claiming 101 points, pipping the Blues, who amassed 98, into second.

While Town have subsequently stormed into the Championship’s automatic places, Plymouth are currently 18th on 15 points, 16 behind the Blues with the Pilgrims having played a game more.

Prior to Tuesday’s 3-0 home victory over last season’s other promoted League One side, Championship table-proppers Sheffield Wednesday, only their fourth league win of the season, they had gone four games without claiming all three points.

Last season the teams drew 1-1 at Portman Road with Argyle winning 2-1 at Home Park having come from behind on both matches.

Blues boss Kieran McKenna was asked whether those games are a reference point going into tomorrow’s match.

“In some ways, yes and in other ways, not so much,” he said. “I think, from a tactical point of view, they've been doing quite a lot of things differently this year.

“I still think they're a positive team and still trying to take the initiative, but tactically they've changed shape in quite a few games and some of the principles are quite a bit different, and the movements are quite a bit different. So, I don't think there's a massive correlation there.

“I think in general, like last year, they're a good team, they've got a very good manager [Steven Schumacher], they’re well coached, you can tell they've got a good spirit in the group, and they've got some very, very talented individuals who can hurt you.

“So we have good references from that last year in terms of two really tough hard-fought games and we expect the same again tomorrow.

“But in terms of the specific challenges in the game, they might be a little bit different, so we've prepared for that and prepared again to face a good team.”

McKenna, whose side are currently unbeaten in eight in the league, says he and Schumacher talked during the latter stages of the League One promotion chase and in the summer.

“I think we spoke through the back end of that season at times and in the off-season as well and in the early stages of pre-season as well, and there's certainly a respect there,” he said.

“He's done a very good job and Plymouth had an outstanding season last season. And I think they've gone into the Championship and tried to stay positive as well and be consistent with their ethos from last season.

“I think it was a pretty unique race in League One in terms of the points collection of the teams in the top three and nice in a way that those were the three teams that went up to the next division, which was probably deserved on how the season panned across and now we're all on our own journeys in the next challenge.”

On their travels this season, Argyle are yet to win having drawn three - at Watford, 0-0, Hull City, 1-1, and West Brom, also 0-0 - and lost three, 2-1 at Birmingham, 2-1 at Preston and 4-1 at Bristol City.

McKenna says they’re a better side than their lack of away victories so far suggests “They've had good results away from home as well. They drew with West Brom away from home last week. They drew away from home with Watford early in the season.

“They've been competitive in every game apart from maybe the Bristol City game and they made a lot of changes to the team. Every other game apart from that, they've been really, really competitive.

“I think Plymouth are traditionally a team who have been really, really strong at home. They've got a good atmosphere at home. It's a long way for everyone to travel and they've built a lot of their success on a great home record.

“But we know and we've see that they can be a really dangerous opponent away from home as well and it's not hard to envisage it because it was only maybe nine, 10 months ago that we played at Portman Road and it was a really tough-fought game.

“We, of course, have the appropriate level of respect for them. We know them really well. We know the players. We know their ethos as a team and we know that we're going to have to do really, really well to win the game.”

Town’s last home match was the 4-2 victory over Preston three weeks ago and McKenna says it will be good to get back on home turf and in front of another crowd which is likely to be close to a sell-out.

“The games have been a really great atmosphere, good games at home, lots for everyone to get behind and it's going to be great to be back out there,” he added.

“Preston feels like a while away and we want to get back out there, and we're going to need the crowd again tomorrow. It's massive.

“It's so important that players, the crowd and everyone involved alike don't take this game any differently because it's a team who were in League One with us last year.

“They showed last year that they're certainly worthy of the respect. They've shown this year in terms of how they've approached the games that they're worthy of that, and we're going to need the same intensity on and off the pitch.

“We're going to need the same atmosphere. We're going to need the same patience, maybe.

“We're going to need the same resilience if the game isn't going to go our way and it's vitally important that we maintain that at the game and around the game because that's been a massive, massive part of our good home form so far and it'll be a big part of tomorrow if we're going to need a result tomorrow if we're going to go and get a result.”

Despite their current position, only three Championship sides have scored more than Plymouth’s 21 goals this season with the Blues the division’s top scorers on 26. Eight teams have conceded more than their 19.

The six Championship games at Portman Road this season have yielded 30 goals - compared with nine from the six away - and McKenna was asked whether he anticipates another goal-fest this weekend.

“You can't ever be certain how the game is going to play out,” he reflected. “I know it's a bit of a kink there, really, where we've had quite a lot of away 1-0 wins and we've had some more high-scoring games at home. 

“But we try and be pretty consistent in how we play. Of course, having the home crowd and energy behind you makes a massive difference. But we try and be positive whether we're playing home or away.

“This season is very different than last season. In the first part of this season, teams have come to Portman Road and generally tried to give us a competitive and open match. They tried to take us on with the ball and attack us. That's led to really exciting open games at times.

“But we can't predict what Plymouth will do. I know what our intent is going to be, whether they're going to come and try and be very aggressive against the ball or be more compact in their shape.

“We can't control that. All we can do is keep trying to improve as a team on being good in whatever phase the game is.

“Whether an opposition comes to press us, whether an opposition comes and sits off, whether the other team wants to have a lot of flow in the game and get the ball and play quick, or whether they want to play slower and set things up for set plays and disrupt the flow of the game, we need to continue to improve at all of those challenges and understand what we do in each different phase.

“When we do that, we're adaptable enough that whatever the opposition brings, we know at least we have the idea of what we need to do to be our best.”

Vaclav Hladky will again start in goal with Brandon Williams and Leif Davis probably the full-backs, although McKenna has said he could look at making some changes with the game coming so soon after Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Bristol City. Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess look set to continue as the centre-halves.

Skipper Sam Morsy seems certain to continue in the centre of midfield with Massimo Luongo probably alongside him, although the Australian has been rested when games have come in quick succession on occasion this season, in which case Jack Taylor is likely to come into the team.

McKenna, whose team has astonishingly won 26 of their last 30 matches including the on-penalties victory over Reading in the Carabao Cup, could look to switch at least one of the three behind lone central striker George Hirst with Omari Hutchinson probably coming in for Kayden Jackson on the right but Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead would seem likely to keep their places.

Freddie Ladapo could come back into the squad having trained following his achilles injury.

Argyle manager Schumacher is pleased to be going into the visit to Portman Road off the back of two games in which his side hasn’t conceded, the 0-0 draw with the Baggies and the midweek 3-0 victory over the Owls, as they face a Town side whose start he applauds.

“Coming off the back of two clean sheets is important,” he told his club’s official website. “We know we're going to have to be really defensively well organised.

“We've been playing well most of the season. Some of our attacking play has been good. Our defensive work over the last few games has been better. If we can put that together, put on a whole performance, then we've got a chance of getting a result.

“The start that [Ipswich have] made this season is just incredible for a newly-promoted team. I've just read that they've got the second-highest points tally ever behind Leicester this season. It's a brilliant, brilliant achievement and credit to them.

“We knew how good they were last season. They play some unbelievable football. They were good on both sides of the ball, and they've carried that momentum into this season. It's going to be a really tough game.

“I can't say I'm too surprised. They've obviously got a brilliant manager and a good group of lads and the crowd are incredible at Portman Road as well. It's a good club and they're going in the right direction.

“I think they would probably be surprised that they've got that many actual points, but the way they've played, I can't say I'm too surprised because they're playing in virtually exactly the same way [as last season].

“They've got a very similar squad. A couple of additions, a couple of lads that they bought this season who haven't managed to get into the team yet. That just shows how strong their team was last season.

“We knew they virtually had Championship players all over the pitch last year, so maybe it highlights actually how well we did to stay above them and fight them off for as long as we did last season.”

Schumacher is hoping for a match much like last season’s games between the teams in League One.

“I hope [to see a similar game] because if that is the case, then we're in with a chance,” he added.

“We've got to go and work hard off the ball, cause them a problem where we can, and we've got to try to stay in the game for as long as possible.

“They are flying, so we need to be at it - but also not be scared of it. We know that, the way we play, we can cause them a problem.

“They didn't have any easy games against us last season. Both games were really tight. If we play as well as we can possibly play, then we've got a shot.”

Historically, Town have had the edge over Argyle in games between the sides over the years, winning 22 games (21 in the league), losing 13 (13) and drawing 16 (16).

Plymouth last won at Portman Road in March 2010 - one of only two wins - when Blues and Argyle legend Paul Mariner led the Pilgrims to a 2-0 victory over Roy Keane’s Town.

In January at Portman Road, Bali Mumba’s deflected injury-time goal grabbed a point for leaders Plymouth Argyle as the Blues and Pilgrims drew 1-1, the then-on-loan Norwich man's strike levelling Wes Burns’s brilliant opener for Town.

Both teams had hit the woodwork, the Blues through Marcus Harness and Argyle via Ryan Hardie, before Burns lashed a strike into the roof of the net from the right of the area from a Luke Woolfenden lay-off.

Town looked on their way to three points until Mumba found the top corner via a deflected strike to claim a share of the points in front of 29,069 fans, at that point the highest crowd since the Gamechanger takeover.

At Home Park in September last year, Argyle came from a goal down to inflict Town’s first League One defeat of the season and replaced them at the top of the table.

Ladapo’s first league goal for the Blues on 39 gave Town a half-time lead but Mumba and Morgan Whittaker netted in the 69th and 75th minutes to claim the points and top spot for the Pilgrims.

Blues keeper Christian Walton started his career with Plymouth, joining their youth system aged 10 and was an unused sub for a first-team game when 16 without making it onto the field before moving on to Brighton's academy.

He later returned for a loan spell during the first half of 2015/16 when he made four appearances.

Town midfielder Panutche Camara, who is on loan at Charlton for the season, spent two years with the Pilgrims before joining the Blues at the start of last season, making 82 starts and 13 sub appearances, scoring 10 goals.

Striker Ladapo was with Argyle during the 2018/19 season, scoring 19 times in 46 starts and three sub appearances and securing a £500,000 move to Rotherham.

Town keeper-coach Rene Gilmartin had a spell with the Pilgrims when Walton was at Home Park, making 16 appearances during 2012/13.

The Blues were keen on signing Plymouth forward Morgan Whittaker during his loan spell with the Pilgrims in the first half of last season but the then-Swansea man wasn’t keen on the switch and, having been recalled in January, spent the second half of the campaign in Wales before returning to Home Park on a permanent basis in the summer.

Saturday’s referee is Gavin Ward from Surrey, who has shown 32 yellow cards and no red in nine matches so far this season.

Ward’s most recent Town match was the 3-2 home victory over Cardiff in which he booked Williams, Broadhead, Wes Burns, Harry Clarke and three Bluebirds.

He was also in the middle for the pre-season friendly against Luton at Colchester, in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout, and the 3-0 win at Peterborough in April in which he booked Morsy, Chaplin, Burns and one Posh player.

He was also in charge of the 2-0 home defeat to Rotherham in November 2021 in which he again yellow-carded Morsy and three of the visitors.

Before that, he refereed the 2-0 defeat at Fleetwood in March the same year in which he cautioned Gwion Edwards and two home players.

Prior to that he took control of the 3-2 home victory over Leeds in the final Championship game prior to relegation from the Championship in May 2019 in which he booked Jackson, Toto Nsiala, and one White, and showed Blues captain Luke Chambers a late straight red card for a foul for which he also awarded the visitors a penalty.

Ward was also the man in the middle for the 6-1 pre-season thrashing at Charlton ahead of the start of the 2017/18 campaign and refereed the 1-0 away victory over the MK Dons in December 2015 in which he yellow-carded Chambers, Jonathan Douglas and Freddie Sears.

A month earlier he had taken charge of the 2-2 draw at home to Wolves in which he again cautioned Chambers and two visiting players.

Ward also took control of the 3-1 home victory over Cardiff in April of the same year in which he booked Cole Skuse, Tyrone Mings and Christophe Berra and two visiting players. Prior to that he refereed the 2-0 defeat at Rotherham that February.

Squad from: Hladky, Walton, Clarke, Williams, Donacien, Davis, Ball, Woolfenden, Burgess, Edmundson, Morsy, Luongo, Taylor, Humphreys, Jackson, Chaplin, Broadhead, Harness, Aluko, Hutchinson, Hirst, Ladapo, Scarlett.

Photo: TWTD

MK1 added 18:01 - Oct 27 It will be a tough game, but I think we have taken a bigger step forward in class than they have. I will go for an uncomfortable 2-1 Town win.
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BuckieBlue added 21:54 - Oct 27 Good to hear Schumacher's comments, they seemed like a well run club last season. As he mentioned how well we are doing I don't think it off message to share a thought about the way the season in unfolding. I think Wed. night was big, as much for what happened at Stoke as at Ashton Gate. Leeds were on a bit of a charge and with their squad I was beginning to think they could be the one club to really challenge us...but if they can't get anything at Stoke...? Of the rest Middlesboro are going great but they've an awful lot to make up. I know there's a long way to go but it's almost getting to a stage of us having to implode for top 2 not to be a real possibility. Publicly KMcK and the lads will never come out with anything along those lines but I wouldn't surprised if the business brain of Ashton and even Gamechanger aren't beginning to wonder if PL investment might be needed in 7 months.

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gosblue added 08:39 - Oct 28 Plymouth will feel they have a point to prove so they will be well up for this. They seem to adopt different styles to match the opposition when playing away. It was 4-2-3-1 at Hull and they gave up a lot of possession but at West Brom it was 4-5-1 with very few chances at either end and seven yellow cards for Plymouth including the keeper. If they have watched our Brizzle game they’ll realise that 4-2-3-1 can cause our back four some problems. This should be a comfortable win for Towen but you can never tell. That’s the beauty of this league. 3-1 Town.

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dirtydingusmagee added 09:27 - Oct 28 yep, a tough match, if we are on song think we will get the result [2-1]. Things have gone really well so far,but at some point we will lose a game, that is when we will see what the team is made of, how we react to being beaten . I do think we will win today ,and when the defeat does come it will be from a team struggling at bottom of table . However we are in a great position and have a gap to 3rd and a game in hand, HAPPY DAYS. COYB

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Nomore4 added 09:52 - Oct 28 3 nil Town…..
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