They haven't won on foreign soil since beating Northampton in September 2002, although have enjoyed runs to the final and quarter-final.

When they got to the Millennium Stadium three years ago, Latics' played away just once – the semi-final second leg at Arsenal which they lost 2-1.

And the first-round victory at Northampton was the start of a giant-killing run to the last eight, with the next four games at the JJB Stadium.

Latics boss Steve Bruce hopes to buck the trend at Portman Road as the the Carling Cup is a competition he hopes to do well in, even though the Premier League remains his priority.

His assistant Eric Black told the Evening Post: "I don't know how realistic it is to say we could win the Carling Cup, but it's a chance to do well.

"History shows that by the time you get to the quarter-finals, quite a few of the big teams start to play their big guns.

"We want to go as far as we can in the competition, and the players are desperate to win tonight's game, as they are any match.

"While we're still considering who will play, obviously we want to field a strong team.

"Our squad isn't the biggest in terms of numbers, but there are still a lot of quality players who haven't been playing regularly recently.

"Daniel de Ridder, Olivier Kapo, Kevin Kilbane and Henri Camara will be pushing for a game, and Ryan Taylor is back in the squad too.
"We'll make a decision on who plays a bit nearer the time."

Michael Brown won't travel, with Latics excusing the midfielder duty tonight so he can be with his wife and new-born daughter.
But Lee Cattermole is available after missing the Tottenham game through suspension and is likely to start in the centre of midfield.

There have been suggestions Amr Zaki picked up a calf knock at Spurs, but the striker is still likely to travel.
The one slight injury doubt is Maynor Figueroa, with the Honduras left-back suffering from a minor back complaint.

Black said: "Maynor is just feeling his back a little bit, so obviously we will have to be careful with him. Otherwise we're okay, and this is a game we're looking forward to.

"We go to Ipswich after putting on more than a decent performance at Tottenham, although it's probably the first time I've come away from White Hart Lane a bit disappointed only to have picked up a point.

"We felt we could have won the game if we'd had a bit more of a cutting edge about us, it was the final pass which let us down.

"But defensively we were excellent and there were a lot of positives to take from the game."