Two of the competition’s heavyweights go head-to-head in the Papa John’s Trophy as Ipswich Town take on Portsmouth at Portman Road on Tuesday evening.
The round of 32 marks the first knockout stage and will see the Tractor Boys face former winners Pompey for the first time ever in this competition.
The hosts are in good form and sit second in the League One table following Saturday’s 2-0 victory away at Exeter City.
Portsmouth sit seventh but have turned into draw specialists of late, including Friday night’s goalless stalemate with Derby County.
Ipswich, taking part in the Papa John’s Trophy for the fourth successive campaign, have never made it beyond the last 16 and were knocked out at this stage last season on penalties by Arsenal U21.
They were rewarded with a home tie after topping a group that contained the young Gunners, as well as Cambridge United and Northampton Town.
Pompey are two-time finalists and finished runners-up to AFC Wimbledon in Group B, knocking out Crawley Town and Aston Villa U21 in the process.
Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna is looking forward to the game but knows the main focus lies on gaining promotion from League One.
However, the Northern Irishman still believes his side can go far in the competition and sees it as an opportunity to get to Wembley Stadium, a ground Town are still yet to play at since its opening in 2007.
He said: "It’s a knockout game so both teams will want to win. Portsmouth have a really strong squad as well, so whether they make changes or don’t make changes we know it will be a good team, a competitive fixture.
"That’s settled on the night, 90 minutes and/or penalties. We’ll recover today and tomorrow we look forward to the game and it should be a good competitive fixture between two good teams and hopefully we’ll try to go through to the next round."
McKenna agrees that the competition so far has been a useful tool for giving players opportunities to get minutes under their belt.
He added: "It has, especially the early games when you’ve got everybody fit and available. It’s a balancing act because we don’t have that and we need to manage the bodies in the squad in the appropriate way.
"On the other hand, of course, it’s a cup competition against a good team and we’re in the knockout rounds, so we want to win but we have to make sensible decisions about availability and we’ll assess how everyone is."
Portsmouth manager Danny Cowley says Ipswich away is a tough tie and one he would have liked to avoid, but is looking forward to the challenge and believes his side can continue their positive run in the competition this season.
Speaking ahead of the game, Cowley said: "It's a great draw for us, the toughest of draws, but we always like playing against the best opponents because you naturally get instant feedback when you play against good teams.
"We look at Ipswich with a lot of respect. They've got the best squad in the division and, as a consequence, the best in the Papa John's Trophy."
Cowley was full of praise for the opposition having been part of the punditry team for Ipswich's match on Sky Sports at the weekend.
He added: "I think they're very well-coached. I had the privilege of watching their game against Exeter on Saturday and they were very dominant and professional in that performance.
"For us, it's a cup competition that absolutely we want to be successful in and want to progress in."
Team news
Ipswich Town
McKenna said that, while nothing is confirmed, Panutche Camara is likely to make his first start for the club since his summer arrival from Plymouth Argyle. He had been struggling with injury since his deadline day move.
The Town boss also said that Greg Leigh is expected to feature at some point, likely from the bench, for what would be his first appearance since sustaining a compression fracture to the leg against Sheffield Wednesday in September.
He said: "He’ll be involved, I’m not sure how many minutes. He’s only trained for one and a half days really, but we wanted him to come and travel and be around the group today and, touch wood, he’ll be in the squad for Tuesday."
McKenna highlighted that Ipswich have been working with a more depleted squad in recent weeks due to injury.
"We’re still working through that recovery process,” he said. "We had quite a few knocks and niggles after the game. Leif [Davis] going off, Conor [Chaplin] going off and JD [Janoi Donacien] with an issue as well, amongst a few others.
"We’re still working through that. We’ve not been able to train much, of course, so it’s just been about recovery and we’re going to have to make late decisions on availability for the game.
"It’s a game in a different competition that we’d like to do well in, but we have to prioritise the squad and the big fixtures and the big competitions we have coming up."
With the Tractor Boys tighter on numbers, it is possible McKenna could turn to some younger players to fill out the squad.
Edwin Agbaje seems the most likely candidate, while Tawanda Chirewa, Zanda Siziba, Fraser Alexander, Gerard Buabo and Albie Armin have all featured this season in the competition.
Gassan Ahadme is cup-tied, while Kyle Edwards is suspended following his two bookings picked up in the final group game against Cambridge.
Sone Aluko, Lee Evans, Dominic Ball and Tyreece John-Jules are all out with longer-term injuries.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth have been struggling with a large number of injuries recently that has seen Cowley work with a smaller squad than he would have liked.
Michael Jacobs is close to returning after coming off against Charlton Athletic last month, but Cowley confirmed that this game will come too soon for the former Wigan Athletic man.
He said: "Michael's back on the grass training, so we are hopeful sooner rather than later.
"He's not training with the group yet, we have a back-to-play protocol the players must go through, so it’s layered and step-by-step.
"We miss him, don’t we? We miss his quality, in open play the je ne sais quoi he brings, that ability to find that little through ball, a little half-space cross, he's always a goal threat, what he brings the team in set-pieces.
"We have definitely missed him, that’s for sure."
Joe Rafferty and Tom Lowery are absent after aggravating previous existing injuries, with Louis Thompson and Jayden Reid also out.
Cowley is likely to bring Denver Hume and Kieron Freeman back into the defence as has been the case in the competition so far this season.
Josh Dockerill, Harvey Laidlaw and Brian Quarm have all made their debuts this season and is not impossible they could feature again here.
Joe Pigott, who has been utilised in the EFL Trophy often this campaign, is unavailable to face his parent club.
Ipswich-born Joe Morrell is also not available due to being with the Wales squad in Qatar for the FIFA World Cup.
Likely lineups
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Hladky; Vincent-Young, Edmundson, Keogh (c), Agbaje; Camara, Humphreys; Harness, Chaplin, Burns; Jackson.
Portsmouth (4-4-2): Oluwayemi; Hume, Robertson (c), Freeman, Swanson; Curtis, Tunnicliffe, Mingi, Dale; Koroma, Hackett.
Key players
Marcus Harness
Marcus Harness is a man who needs no introduction to Pompey supporters, having made the move from Fratton Park this summer.
The 26-year-old netted 32 times in 134 appearances for Portsmouth across three seasons on the south coast.
Harness has seven goals since joining the Blues, including one against his former employers last month and two in the EFL Trophy.
A seven-game goal drought was ended at the weekend when Harness scored and assisted in Town's win at Exeter.
Ronan Curtis
Ronan Curtis has started all three group stage matches so far this season and it is in the EFL Trophy where he has found his eye for goal.
Two of his three goals this campaign have come in this competition.
The Irish winger has been directly involved in five goals in seven appearances against the Tractor Boys.
Form guide
Ipswich are unbeaten in six and have lost just three of their last 21 matches across all competitions.
The hosts have also lost just once in 10 matches on home soil, winning seven of those and keeping six clean sheets.
Both of Town’s home matches in the group stages were won to nil.
Portsmouth enter this fixture following back-to-back draws, with five of their last six matches ending all square. Two of their three group matches were drawn.
Pompey have, however, lost just once in the 10 games since their last meeting with Ipswich seven weeks ago.
The visitors have scored in each of their last 14 away trips in this competition, but have also conceded 16 goals in their last five.
Head-to-head
Ipswich are unbeaten in three matches against Portsmouth having lost five straight meetings beforehand.
Prior to last month’s 3-2 victory that ended Pompey’s unbeaten league start, Ipswich had won just once in eight home meetings with the Hampshire side.
Match details
Where is the game being played?
Portman Road will play host to this clash, the home of Ipswich Town since 1884.
What time is kick-off?
The match will kick off at 19:45 GMT on Tuesday, November 22.
How can I watch?
The match will be available to watch globally via an iFollow match pass, which can be purchased from either club.
Highlights will be available on social media the following day.