Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has received a boost as Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha's ban has been extended to four games, meaning he will miss his side's next two fixtures.
The Blues are currently in 18th place with 17 points after 29 matchweeks, and they are nine points behind 17th-placed Wolves with just nine games left to play.
Unfortunately for McKenna, his side face Bournemouth, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United in four of their next five games, though they did beat Chelsea 2-0 in the reverse fixture on December 30.
Relegation to the Championship could have disastrous consequences for the club given the likes of Liam Delap and Jacob Greaves could head for the exit door.
Ipswich have the opportunity to close the gap to Wolves to six points and have been boosted ahead of the clash on April 5 as talisman Cunha's ban following his red card against Bournemouth in the FA Cup on March 1 has been extended to four games meaning he will be unavailable for the match.
© Imago
Can Ipswich survive?
If Ipswich are to overcome Wolves' lead, they will have to beat Wolves in their Premier League clash and hope that their opponents drop further points against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur on March 13.
However, Spurs may field a considerably weakened team considering they play Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa League quarter-final tie either side of the fixture.
Regardless of how many points Wolves collect in the final nine games of the season, Ipswich will have to considerably improve upon their own form given they are winless in 10 Premier League matches, losing eight times.
To their credit, the Tractor Boys only lost by one goal in three of those fixtures, but they conceded on 29 occasions in that period.
Ipswich do have a favourable final three games, with the club playing Brentford, Leicester City and West Ham United, but they will almost certainly have to pick up points prior to those outings if they are to survive.
The Blues will play Brentford and West Ham United at home, but the club have only collected seven points from a possible 45 at Portman Road and have been beaten in eight of their nine most recent top-flight games at the stadium.
Few predicted that Ipswich would avoid the drop to the Championship prior to the current campaign, but it would be disappointing if the club bowed out of the Premier League with so many matches to spare.
Lewis Nolan
