Ipswich Town have a massive game in the Premier League up next to kick off February as bottom-of-the-table Southampton travel to Portman Road.

Indeed, the Tractor Boys will hope they can sense blood in this clash to emphatically beat Ivan Juric’s Saints after losing back-to-back contests against some of the top-flight’s best in Manchester City and Liverpool.

Of course, football doesn’t often play out as you expect, but Kieran McKenna will be desperate for his team to pick up a win to build back up some confidence after letting in ten goals to both City and the Reds in two humbling defeats.

McKenna will still need his best players to shine against Southampton no matter how poor they’ve looked for large spells of the campaign, with Omari Hutchinson one figure who can cause defences all sorts of bother when at the very top of his game.

The last time the Tractor Boys won on their own patch, Hutchinson was a bright spark throughout as Chelsea succumbed to a surprise 2-0 defeat.

He even managed to clinch the game in his side’s favour against his ex-employers as his calm finish beat Filip Jørgensen after a wonderfully crafted counter attack found him begging to fire home.

Away from that game, Hutchinson has also picked up a further goal and one assist in the Premier League, after initially exploding into life at Portman Road as an exciting loan talent on the way to McKenna’s men leaping up to the level.

Whilst he did cost a weighty £20m to pick up permanently in the summer, the Jamaica international’s wage only comes in at a modest £6k-per-week as per Capology, with an Ipswich outcast earning a higher salary than the standout 20-year-old.

Unfortunately, whilst some players take to the pressures of a new level in their stride, others don’t quite acclimatise in the same way.

Massimo Luongo arguably falls into that latter bracket, with just 170 minutes of football coming his way this season in the daunting division after being a regular last season in the Championship.

During that promotion success, the Australian midfielder would help himself to three goals and three assists as a regular starter in the middle of the park next to Sam Morsy, who is also a victim somewhat of the major gulf in quality between the EFL and the top-flight.

Luongo hasn’t been helped by some injury niggles, but with the likes of Jack Taylor, Jens Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips at McKenna’s disposal, it feels unlikely even when he’s up to full speed that he will displace any of those names to return to the starting XI week in week out.