Bromley welcome Championship side Ipswich Town to Hayes Lane Stadium on Tuesday for what is set to be an interesting Carabao Cup clash as two sides of completely different quality meet under the Sky Sports Cameras.
The Ravens understand facing a Ipswich Town side that is full of quality, despite the high likelihood of a rotated XI from the away side, will prove a very tough challenge. Both sides do possess various strengths and weaknesses which is why this game could be a lot more interesting than some football fans think.
So, with the Carabao Cup encounter now on the horizon, let’s have a good look at how the two sides could potentially shape up and play, with the prospect of impressing football fans across England and even further afield under the television cameras looming large.
Bromley
What Strengths And Weaknesses Do The Hosts Possess?
Going into this fixture, Bromley have already played two competitive fixtures, with the new League Two season starting a weekend in advance of Ipswich Town’s Championship season.
The extra competitive minutes and experience may well profit Bromley, who could feel slightly more up to speed with the challenges of competitive football against challenging opposition.
In their opening two games of the 2025/2026 campaign, Bromley are yet to concede, having secured a strong point against Shrewsbury, who are a side backed to be up and fighting for an instant return to League One following their relegation last season. The Ravens then won on GW2, managing to succeed over newly promoted Barnet on home soil with a routine 2-0 win.
Looking back at last season, Bromley’s first EFL appearance in club history was a largely positive one, with a serious play-off chance and an eventual 11th placed finish saw them miss out on the top seven by just four points.
The way The Ravens set up last year saw them secure an impressive 16 clean sheets, as well as a goals conceded rate of just 1.3 per game, which had them right in the middle of the League Two charts in said area.
As the charts and statistics show thanks to FotMob, Andy Woodman’s Bromley certainly look a very compact and well-drilled side defensively, but also a strong attacking force.
With 1.4 goals a game, a figure placing them 7th of all League Two clubs, and an impressive 64 goals scored across the season, The Ravens definitely are capable on both aspects of football. However, retaining possession proved hard last season, as Bromley had the lowest rate of average possession from the whole division.
How Could Bromley Line Up Against Ipswich?
In the opening two games of the new season, The Ravens have opted for a 3-4-1-2 / 3-4-2-1 approach, which has given them defensive cover but also the option to attack strong.
In the structure of either formation, Bromley find themselves well-protected at the back with at least three defenders. With Pinnock and Ifill playing in a wing-back role, too, it allows for the two wider players in Woodman’s system to assist on attacking play and defensive work.
With two midfielders also sitting ahead of the back three, which may turn into a five-back including the wing-backs, Thompson and Charles offer further cover in the defensive third but also an important pivot which allows Bromley to use whatever amount of the ball to attack, and fast.
The Ravens seemingly rely heavily on turning the possession over and then quickly breaking forwards on the counter, which is where the attacking trio of Whitely, exciting new recruit Will Hondermarck and prolific scorer Cheek then use their technical ability to work the ball into positive opportunities, usually resulting in the latter of the three putting the ball into the net.
Last season, Micheal Cheek’s play on and off the ball was vital, as he secured the golden boot with an impressive 25 goals last season, of which was a huge part of Bromley’s impressive season upon their first-ever EFL campaign.
So, in full, here is how The Ravens may well look as they welcome Ipswich in the hope for Carabao Cup success this season:
Formation -> 3-4-2-1
- Goalkeeper | Grant Smith
- Right Centre-Back | Omar Sowunmi
- Centre-Back | Byron Webster
- Left Centre-Back | Kyle Cameron
- Right Wing-Back | Marcus Ifill
- Left Wing-Back | Mitchell Pinnock
- Centre-Midfielder | Ben Thompson
- Centre-Midfielder | Ashley Charles
- Right Attacking Midfielder | Will Hondermarck
- Left Attacking Midfielder | Corey Whitely
- Striker | Michael Cheek
As Bromley look to implement a similar style of defensive football with counter-attacking strengths, it seems as if this rigid shape may well be put in operation once again. However, with a side of Ipswich’s quality to face, there’s a chance that Andy Woodman may create something of similar structure, but with a defensive five instead.
Ipswich Town
What Strengths And Weaknesses Do Kieran McKenna’s Men Hold?
Going into this fixture, Ipswich Town arrive off the back of a resilient away showing to draw against Birmingham. The Tractor Boys haven’t quite got themselves back up to speed at a competitive pedigree, yet, with just the one game of scrappy standard played out.
However, with new additions to the squad either side of the Birmingham visit, plus the sheer quality and ability in the ranks at Ipswich, there should be no reason at all why the visitors are marked as clear favourites to run out winners of this cup clash.
Against Birmingham, Ipswich Town couldn’t quite form attacks as they usually do with the ball, however with a slightly weaker side than wanted with certain absentees, the Tractor Boys did still perform to a good standard, especially against a motivated Birmingham side.
Looking back over to last season’s statistics on FotMob, Ipswich Town did struggle heavily defensively. Of course, shipping large numbers of goals was a key issue, but also the lack of challenges cost ITFC as they eventually slumped to an instant relegation back into the Championship last season.
Despite their shambolic showing in the top flight, Ipswich did impress earlier on into the season. With the likes of Delap, who completed his blockbuster move to Chelsea, and Omari Hutchinson causing early chaos, the Suffolk outfit did seemingly look like they might have what it takes, despite not being on the ball much.
Having good ability to work the ball quickly into the skilful Jens Cajuste, who recently returned on loan for another season, Ipswich Town were able to pivot out of midfield and make chances on the breakaway, which isn’t something Kieran McKenna is used to, however it was a must against big Premier League opposition.
How Could Ipswich Town Shape Up For Bromley Test?
With a busy Championship schedule ahead this year and some massive games on the horizon in coming weeks, it would be no surprise to see a rotated Ipswich Town side at Hayes Lane on Tuesday.
The Tractor Boys do possess some serious depth this summer, however, they’ll certainly be without Wes Burns, Conor Townsend and Harry Clarke, who are all side-lined with longer term injuries that will see them away from any matchday squads for the foreseeable future.
There’s also a good chance of an Omari Hutchinson absence as rumours over a move back into the Premier League to either Brentford or Nottingham Forest continue to stick around. Jaden Philogene is a heavy doubt for the game, as he missed out against Birmingham through an injury collected in pre-season, also.
Against Birmingham on Friday night, Ipswich Town lined up in what was seemingly a 4-2-3-1 shape, however, as the night progressed, that changed more into a 4-4-1-1, via FotMob’s last starting XI feature.
With the arrivals of Chuba Akpom and returning Jens Cajuste, Ipswich Town may well look to implement their fresh signings into a rotated squad to get minutes into the legs but also for the new players to get some experience in alongside their brand-new team-mates.
Another summer arrival in David Button could well get minutes, with him or Christian Walton likely to start in goal behind a changed back-line which could see yet another addition in Kipre appear alongside Woolfenden or fringe player Elkan Baggott who isn’t likely to play many fixtures for Ipswich Town this season.
We could well see Ashley Young and the chance of Cameron Humphreys, the youngster, getting a left-back cameo with Leif Davis likely to receive rest is also pretty strong, too.
It’d be no surprise to see Cajuste start this game, most likely alongside one of Jack Taylor or Azor Matusiwa, yet another of Ipswich’s signings to this stage.
Behind striker Ali Al-Hamadi, who will start ahead of Hirst, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Akpom, Philogene (if fit), Broadhead, of whom is heavily linked to join Wrexham, and Conor Chaplin feature.
So, with plenty of rotation, here’s how we could most likely see Kieran McKenna set up his Ipswich Town side away at Bromley on Tuesday, giving maximum opportunity to those with less minutes, new signings and possibly players returning from small injuries.
Formation | 3-4-2-1
- Goalkeeper | David Button
- Centre Back | Luke Woolfenden
- Centre Back | Cedric Kipre
- Centre Back | Elkan Baggott
- Right Wing-Back / Right Midfielder | Jaden Philogene
- Left Wing-Back / Left Midfielder | Ashley Young
- Centre Midfielder | Jens Cajuste
- Centre Midfielder | Cameron Humphreys (Jack Taylor)
- Right Attacking Midfielder | Conor Chaplin
- Left Attacking Midfielder | Chuba Akpom
- Striker | Ali Al-Hamadi
Our Prediction
Despite rotation from Ipswich Town, as expected, it does seem as if the quality of their side, plus the booster from fresh additions into the matchday squad, could be enough itself to see the Tractor Boys win this Carabao Cup clash.
However, defensive resilience from Bromley could frustrate an attacking Ipswich Town outfit and therefore The Ravens may earn themselves some good counter opportunities, which could see this game turn into a completely different affair from what is expected.
The ability in ITFC’s team does look too big a difference from Bromley’s side, though, therefore we feel that the travelling Ipswich side should comfortably win this, securing a routine 3-0 win away from home.
Our Prediction: Bromley 0:3 Ipswich Town
What do you think, however, let us know down in the comments below!
