Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has described Chelsea as a "very, very good side" ahead of the Premier League clash between the two sides on Monday night.

The Tractor Boys could become only the fifth side to fail to win any of their first 10 Premier League home games in a season if they are unable to claim all three points at Portman Road on Monday. McKenna’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Newcastle in their previous home fixture and have also won just one of their last six games, but can perhaps take some encouragement from Chelsea’s own blip in form.

A run of eight straight wins in all competitions was ended by a 0-0 draw at Everton before Christmas, with Enzo Maresca’s side then suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day. “We know they’re a top side having a very good season but it’s the challenges that we want,” McKenna said. “The last home game of 2024, let’s go and give it everything we’ve got.”

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Asked if Chelsea’s recent form would work in his side’s favour or make it more difficult, McKenna added: “It can go either way to be fair. There’s no doubt they’ve got a lot of good players in the squad. They’ve got the ability to rotate and keep the level of the team extremely high.

“They’ve got an extra day to prepare and I’m sure they’ll be frustrated with the result against Fulham so I’m sure they’re going to be really hungry to get three points on Monday night, but we’ve got to make sure that we match that and make it as competitive as we can. Until we get the first home win it’s going to be the story. Until we got the first win [of the season] at Tottenham it was going to be the story.

“I know the margins in the Leicester game, the Bournemouth game and other games we’ve had [were small] and we could have the first win and it wouldn’t be a story, but we’d still have a lot to do to make it a very successful season. We weren’t happy with the last game against Newcastle. We came up against a very good side and we fell short. We’re coming up against a very, very good side on Monday night and we’ve got to find a way to make it competitive and that’s my only focus.”