Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna was in a defiant mood ahead of their trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Tractor Boys were beaten 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers to leave them 12 points from safety with seven games to go in the Premier League but, according to their manager, they are not about to throw the towel in.

"Nothing is 100% decided from a league perspective, but we know last weekend's result makes it probable. It's about 100% focus on ourselves," he said, as quoted by the Ipswich Star.

"We know if we win on Sunday and Wolves lose then the perspective can look different."

McKenna also acknowledged that, while the players were disappointed after last week's result, they have not let their feeling impact a good week of preparation.

"We left the stadium really sad, but to be honest we've had a good week at the training ground," he said.

"We have had some good meetings about what the next few weeks need to look like. The training's been good.

"Having Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle - as much as they are really difficult games - you can't be anything other than excited for games like that. Everyone's motivation is really high."

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, meanwhile, is hoping that his players will have enough time to rest and recover after their 3-0 victory over Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.

"We planned the game to try to have our best players for this game, and to give a chance to rest players and recover energy," he said in the aftermath of the match, reported by BBC Sport.

"It was a professional performance and a good result. We were much better in the second half, for different reasons. We need to learn to play different times of games.

"When they sit back, you have to be quicker on the ball. You have to shoot from outside the box because they are all inside the box. If you don't shoot, it's difficult."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Chelsea – Enzo Fernandez

Fernandez comes into this on the back of two goals in three games for club and country, including the winner at home to Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the month.

The Argentine is Chelsea's fourth-highest league scorer with four goals, while he also ranks fourth for shots (41) and xG (4.98).

Ipswich – Liam Delap

Liam Delap has scored 12 Premier League goals for Ipswich this season – the only players to score as many or more for a promoted club while aged 22 or younger in a campaign in the competition are Alan Shearer in 1992-93 (16 for Blackburn), Andy Cole in 1993-94 (34 for Newcastle), and Yakubu in 2003-04 (16 for Portsmouth).

Delap comes into this having scored in back-to-back matches for the third time this season already. He has scored 38.7% of Ipswich's 31 league goals this season.

MATCH PREDICTION: CHELSEA WIN

Ipswich have lost 19 of their 31 Premier League games this season (W4 D8). Defeat to Chelsea would make 2024-25 the fourth earliest into a league campaign that they have hit 20 defeats (32 games), after 1954-55 (28), 1963-64 (30), and 1994-95 (31).

Kieran McKenna's side were beaten 2-1 at home to Wolves last weekend, having initially taken the lead, to leave them 12 points from safety with seven games to go. They have lost nine of their last 11 league matches (W1 D1).

Chelsea, meanwhile, have won each of their last five Premier League games at Stamford Bridge by an aggregate score of 11-2. The Blues last won more successive home league matches in July 2020 under Frank Lampard (six)

They have also kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Premier League games, as many as their previous 29 beforehand. The Blues are looking to record three successive league shutouts for the first time since February 2023 under Graham Potter.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY 

Chelsea – 69.6%

Draw – 16.7%

Ipswich – 13.7%