Ipswich Town make four changes including goalkeeper Christian Walton starting for the visit of high-flying Chelsea

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has opted to give Christian Walton only a second Premier League start of the season among four changes for the visit of a Chelsea (7.45pm).

The west London visitors, who could hit the half-way marker in the season - following tonight’s game - in second place behind leaders Liverpool, have also opted for rotation with their goalkeeper switch among five changes.

For Ipswich, question marks about Aro Muric being an enforced change as dispelled by the Kosovo international being on the bench. Walton comes in for the first time since the opening week of the season where he started the first two games in league and cup, following a dead leg to the former ruling him out of the curtain-raiser with Liverpool.

A number of mistakes by Muric had led to calls for Walton to start following the Newcastle defeat but McKenna had stuck with the player he signed from relegated Burnley as his envisaged number one for a reported £8 million in the summer.

Elsewhere, forward Nathan Broadhead, who make a lively cameo off the bench in the 1-0 defeat at Arsenal on Friday night, comes in for his first Premier League start of his career with Sammie Szmodics making way.

Wes Burns, ahead of Ben Johnson on the right-hand side, and captain Sam Morsy returning from suspension in place of Kalvin Phillips are Town’s other changes while Harry Clarke is the man to drop out of the 20-man squad.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has also gone with a rotated side from the 2-1 last-gasp west London derby defeat to Fulham with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez making way, after his poor kick led to the Rodrigo Muniz winner, for Filip Jorgensen in five changes.

Nine-goal Nicolas Jackson drops to the bench with Christopher Nkunku (12 goals all competitions / 2 Premier League) starting in the attack.

England international Noni Madueke, Portguese Jao Felix and Frenchman Axel Disasi also all start with Jadon Sancho, Pedro Neto and Malo Gusto all dropping to the bench which also includes captain Reece James.

Town go into the game in 19th poisition, looking to close the gap to safety to Wolverhampton Wanderers to one point at the half-way stage as they seek their first Premier League home win at the 10th attempt.

A victory over Chelsea would be their first in 11 meetings between the two, the last coming in a 7-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup in 2011.

Town: Walton, Burns, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis, Morsy (c), Cajuste, Hutchinson, Broadhead, Delap.

Subs: Muric, Johnson, Townsend, Phillips, Taylor, Chaplin, Szmodics, J Clarke, Al-Hamadi.

Chelsea: Jorgensen, Disasi, Cucurella, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Fernandez (c), Madueke, Felix, Nkunku, Palmer, Caicedo.

Subs: Sanchez, Neto, Jackson, Sancho, James, Gusto, Acheampong, Guiu, Veiga.

Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).

VAR: Michael Oliver.