Fresh from their much-needed midweeks victories, 18th-placed Ipswich Town and 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers do battle in a pivotal Premier League contest at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.
The Old Gold will be seeking revenge against the Tractor Boys after they suffered a 2-1 defeat in the reverse fixture at Molineux almost four months ago.
Match preview
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Ipswich headed into Wednesday’s contest with European-chasing Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium as underdogs, but they stunned the Cherries to claim a 2-1 victory – just their fourth in the Premier League this season.
Goals either side of half time from Nathan Broadhead and Liam Delap secured three valuable points for the Tractor Boys, who have moved back to within nine points of safety with eight top-flight fixtures remaining to avoid an immediate demotion back to the Championship.
Head coach Kieran McKenna has insisted that “there’s still belief” from his players that they can pull off a miraculous escape, with this weekend’s “big game” and “pressure game” against Wolves arguably their most important of the season.
After beating Wolves in the reverse fixture in December, Ipswich are now looking to complete their first league double over the Old Gold since the 1991-92 campaign, as well as their first in the top flight since 1983-84.
However, Ipswich’s home form leaves little to be desired as they have lost 10 Premier League home games this season, including each of their last five – only once in their league history have the Tractor Boys suffered six consecutive home defeats, doing so between September and November 1963.
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After beating Southampton 2-1 away from home prior to the international break, Wolves secured back-to-back Premier League victories for the third time this season as they beat West Ham United 1-0 at Molineux on Tuesday night.
Jorgen Strand Larsen‘s 21st-minute strike and 10th league goal of the season proved to be the match-winner for Wolves, who have now come out on top with a clean sheet in three of their seven home matches under head coach Vitor Pereira, as many as they managed across their previous 20 league games at Molineux.
An “emotional” Pereira was full of praise for his Wolves side following their “high quality” win over West Ham and the passionate Portuguese believes that the “future will be brilliant” for a team who now sit nine points clear of the relegation zone with eight games remaining.
The Old Gold are now bidding to win their third consecutive Premier League away game, having previously beaten Southampton and Bournemouth, and they travel to Portman Road for a league fixture this weekend for the first time since winning 1-0 in the Championship in January 2018.
Wolves head to Suffolk having won six of their last eight Premier League matches against newly-promoted teams, with their one defeat suffered against Ipswich in December’s reverse fixture. Birmingham City back in 2009-10 are the only promoted side to do the double over Wolves in the Premier League.
Team News
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Ipswich will be without Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (calf) and Arijanet Muric (shoulder), while Omari Hutchinson (hamstring) and Leif Davis (leg) are both major doubts after missing the midweek win over Bournemouth.
Conor Townsend stepped in for Davis at left-back and is likely to retain his spot in the back four, while Ben Johnson could continue on the right flank, although Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke will both be pushing for a recall.
Kalvin Phillips will be hoping to force his way back into midfield ahead of either Sam Morsy or Jens Cajuste, while both Broadhead and Delap – the latter of whom has now scored a team-high 11 Premier League goals this term – and both set to continue in the final third.
As for Wolves, Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera and Leon Chiwone all remain sidelined with knee injuries, while Rodrigo Gomes and Goncalo Guedes will be assessed ahead of kickoff after they missed the midweek win due to “small problems”.
In-demand star Matheus Cunha will serve the final game of a four-match suspension this weekend, so Strand Larsen will continue as the central striker, with Marshall Munetsi and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde potentially providing support in the final third.
Joao Gomes recently signed a new five-year contract extension and he is set to continue in centre-midfield alongside Brazilian compatriot Andre, while Matt Doherty, Emmanuel Agbadou and Toti Gomes are the most likely trio to start in the back three.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Townsend; Morsy, Cajuste; Philogene, Broadhead, Enciso; Delap
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, Agbadou, T. Gomes; Semedo, J. Gomes, Andre, Ait-Nouri; Munetsi, Bellegarde; Strand Larsen
We say: Ipswich Town 1-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Ipswich have struggled at Portman Road for some time and have shipped four or more goals in four home Premier League matches this season, more than they had in their first five seasons and 101 home games combined in the division between 1992-93 and 2001-02 (three), something which will give Wolves hope of success this weekend.
Both teams have had their spirits lifted by midweek victories and goals at both ends could be on the cards, but we are backing Wolves to claim another crucial win to all but secure their top-flight status for next season, even without the presence of Cunha in attack.
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