Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert has revealed that James Norwood and Flynn Downes are both in contention to feature in the club's clash with Southend United tomorrow.

Whilst the former of the two players made a brief appearance against Rotherham United on Wednesday, Downes was an unused substitute at Portman Road.

Following an impressive start to the 2019/20 campaign in the third-tier, the Tractor Boys have experienced somewhat of a slump in form over the past week.

Having suffered their first league defeat of the year last Sunday at the hands of Accrington Stanley, Ipswich were then swept aside by Rotherham on Wednesday.

As a result of this latest setback, the Tractor Boys slipped to second in the League One standings behind Peterborough United.

Considering that Lambert will be wanting his side to deliver a response to Wednesday's defeat in tomorrow's clash with Southend, it will be intriguing to see whether he makes any alterations to his starting lineup.

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Speaking to the local press (as cited by the club's official Twitter account) ahead of the game, the Ipswich boss said: "Norwood came through the last 20 minutes [against Rotherham] fine, we will see how is for tomorrow.

"Flynn [Downes] trained again yesterday, so we will see with Flynn also."

Ipswich will leapfrog Peterborough in the third-tier standins on Saturday if they better Darren Ferguson's side's result.

The Verdict

When you consider just how important Downes and Norwood have been for Ipswich this season, Lambert will be delighted that he could potentially call upon the services of both players for tomorrow's showdown with Southend.

Although the Tractor Boys will enter the game as favourites due to the fact that the Shrimpers are currently in the League One relegation zone, they cannot afford to underestimate their opponents.

By securing a convincing victory over Southend, Ipswich could use the momentum gained from this result to push on in the third-tier over the coming weeks.