Alex McCarthy is set to make his Ipswich debut against Birmingham but Jimmy Bullard continues to miss out due to a severe illness.
Goalkeeper McCarthy arrived from Reading on a three-month loan deal on Monday and is poised to replace Arran Lee-Barrett at St Andrew's.
Town will, however, be without Bullard for a third successive match this year as he struggles with a virus.
Manager Paul Jewell told the club's official website: "Jimmy is not very well at all to be honest. The illness has knocked him for six really and he hasn't been able to train properly since New Year's Day. So he's not feeling too clever at the moment and that's no over-exaggeration."
Fellow midfielder Lee Bowyer (groin) also misses out against his former club, while defender Damien Delaney is doubtful having suffered a recurrence of his recent foot injury in Saturday's 3-1 FA Cup defeat at Hull. Andy Drury does return having been cup-tied at the weekend.
Town are currently waiting for an answer from out-of-favour Leicester centre-back Sean St Ledger over a move to Suffolk and it remains to be seen whether a deal can be completed in time for him to feature against Birmingham.
The hosts will be without Guirane N'Daw for the match as Chris Hughton's side aim to take advantage of one of their two games in hand over their promotion rivals.
The no-nonsense midfielder, who has recently extended his loan stay from St Etienne until the end of the season, has linked up with Senegal for the forthcoming African Nations Cup.
Blues had hoped to keep hold of N'Daw until after the encounter but their efforts were thwarted, although Hughton has plenty of options for replacements in the middle of the park.
A deal is yet to be struck with West Brom over a loan extension for striker Chris Wood, with the New Zealand international having returned to The Hawthorns and starring as an unused substitute in their FA Cup win over Cardiff at the weekend.
Fit-again defender Liam Ridgewell was forced off with a back spasm shortly after half-time in Saturday's goalless cup tie against Wolves and will be assessed, as will Pablo Ibanez, who missed out with a slight knock.
Skipper Stephen Carr (knee) remains at least two weeks away from a return.
