Maidstone will be aiming to create more history in the FA Cup when they visit Ipswich in the Fourth Road.
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So far, Maidstone’s odyssey has seen them take in six matches to reach the Saturday lunchtime tie, and they have far surpassed expectations.
Prior to this, the National League South side’s best-ever performance was a second-round appearance, and they are the only non-league outfit remaining in the competition.
Maidstone warmed up for this clash by stopping a run of back-to-back defeats by securing a 1-1 draw at home to Braintree earlier in the week, and they have solved their striker shortage by landing Manny Duku from Gibraltan club Manchester 62.
Ipswich, on the other hand, have found wins harder to come by more recently, although they kept themselves in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot with a 1-1 draw away to fellow Championship rivals Leicester.
The FA Cup is invariably imbued with fairytales, but can Maidstone provide the biggest headline in the Fourth Round at Portman Road?
I have sifted through the betting markets and picked out a couple of tips for you to mull over.
Ipswich to saunter into the Fifth Round
At first glance, this appears to be a huge mismatch on paper, but then again, games aren’t won on paper.
While it may not have been the glamour tie that Maidstone fans were hoping for when the Fourth Round draw was made earlier this month, the chance to claim a significant scalp will be too good to resist.
Ipswich, remember, have some pedigree in the FA Cup, having won the competition back in 1978, and they will be targeting a deep run.
More surprisingly, Ipswich have only reached the Fifth Round once in the past 29 years, and that will be a mental blot they will be eager to overcome.
This clash will represent the first time Ipswich and Maidstone have met competitively, and while Maidstone will give a good fist of things, the Tractor Boys could steamroller then.
To kick things off, I’m confident Ipswich will make seamless progress and win to nil. They are trading at a short-looking 11/10 with bet365.
Nathan Broadhead to put his stamp on the game
Although Conor Chaplin has been instrumental to Ipswich’s promotion push so far this term, Kieran McKenna’s side is dripping in quality.
Among them include Nathan Broadhead who has 10 Championship goal involvements to date (eight goals and two assists), and he can provide that cutting edge when needed.
Maidstone will need to pay close attention to Broadhead, who will look to pull the strings in the middle of the park.
For my second pick, I have been a bit bolder and sought value in the goalscorer market by backing Broadhead to score the first AND last goal of the game.
Should you be tempted, William Hill has proffered odds of 16/1 for that outcome.
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