Coventry City success is bad news for Ipswich Town: View

The impact on Ipswich

Coventry booked their place in the FA Cup semi-final against the odds after defeating Premier League side Wolves, before drawing Manchester United for a tie to be held at Wembley Stadium.

The last-four clash is set to be held on the weekend of Saturday 20 April, with precise date and kick-off times yet to be confirmed by the organisers.

However, what is confirmed is that those teams still involved in the cup will not be able to fulfil their league fixtures that weekend, and the fixtures planned for that Saturday will need to be rearranged.

In the case of Coventry, they were due to host Ipswich on that Saturday, so a new time, most likely in midweek, will need to be found for the game.

Could make a tough run-in tougher for the Tractor Boys

Excluding the Coventry game, Ipswich already have five games to play in April, against some tough opposition, and the rearranged fixture must be played before the final day of the Championship season.

The last games in the second tier will be held on Saturday 4 May, recently confirmed by the EFL and, to make matters worse for Ipswich, it will be an early kick-off for all teams.

That means that what was a hectic, but relatively well spaced out, schedule for Ipswich will now almost certainly include a midweek game somewhere in April, and will now just be a few days before or after another vital league fixture.

Although it will give the Tractor Boys a free weekend to prepare and regroup midway through the final run-in, it will also disrupt training plans and travel schedules that were likely already in place at this point, giving the club an extra hurdle to clear in a vital part of the season.

There is little that could be done by any party in mitigation, but Ipswich fans will be hoping that their fellow Championship competitor’s success isn’t a stumbling block in front of what would be an historic promotion for the side.

Ipswich are in with a real chance of Premier League promotion

Considering they were a League One side just last year, the fact that Kieran McKenna has his side within touching distance of a Premier League place is a remarkable feat.

Having won eight of their last 10 games, including last weekend’s 6-0 demolition job on Sheffield Wednesday, the club appear to be hitting form at precisely the right time.

That form comes at the same time as former league leaders Leicester City are somewhat faltering in the final moments of the season, claiming just one win in their last five league games.

The Tractor Boys sit just one point behind the Foxes, albeit with the Midlands side holding a game in hand, but the table suggests this is a battle that is going to go right down to the wire, and Ipswich look up to the fight.

The rearranged fixture against Coventry could be a curveball in what is likely to be intense planning inside Portman Road, but the club look in a good place to find a solution and do what they need to do to seal an historic promotion.