Ipswich Town are preparing for their Premier League return, and the aim is simple – to avoid an immediate relegation to the Championship.
Alex Jones picks five matches that could define their season…
Fulham (H) – Saturday, August 31
It’d be easy to look at the opening two games, especially the home match against Liverpool. Getting off to a good start is crucial, right? Of course, but it’ll clearly be a tall order, and even a point would be a good return.
With that, eyes turn to the Fulham game set for the end of August. The Cottagers have survived comfortably in mid-table since securing promotion from the Championship in 2021/22, but they’re unlikely to challenge at the top end of the table.
It’s certainly a ‘winnable’ fixture, and if Town are beaten in their opening two games, it becomes incredibly important that they get a positive result – ideally a win – against Marco Silva’s side, who might just find things a little harder next season.
A big reason for that is the departure of holding midfielder Palhinha, who’s arguably been Fulham’s best player since arriving from Sporting CP three years ago. His move to Bayern Munich leaves a huge gap in their midfield, even with the £27m capture of Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe.
This game is definitely the easiest of the three in August, and three points would certainly help ahead of matches against Brighton, Southampton and Aston Villa.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) – Saturday, December 14
Moving into the festive period, Ipswich have a run of four ‘easier’ games against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Wolves. The latter is probably the key game here – for more reasons than one.
Firstly, this fixture will come before a Murderers’ Row of games against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Chelsea. If Town can go on a good run of form before they host the Magpies, it’ll help their points tally and their confidence regardless of what happens.
Secondly, Wolves are in a bit of a precarious position. Captain Max Kilman joined West Ham for a £40 million fee, but up to £8 million of that is due to be paid to National League side Maidenhead United due to a sell-on clause. Winger Pedro Neto is set to sign for Chelsea for £54m too, and manager Gary O’Neil is aware that his transfer budget might not be huge to avoid Profit and Sustainability Regulations [PSR].
There were extended periods where they struggled last season, ending the campaign in 14th after losing seven of their final 10 league games. If they struggle to recruit this summer, we could see more of the same.
Southampton (H) – Saturday, February 1
Jeremy Sarmiento’s winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time in this fixture last season lingers in the memory, and it probably won’t go away any time soon. Both Ipswich and Southampton secured promotion to the Premier League just a few weeks after that game, coming into the top flight with a different background but a similar aim.
Both sides will want to stay up by any means necessary, but Southampton head into the campaign with much more experience. After all, they were relegated in 2022/23 and managed to keep much of their team, earning an immediate return from the Championship. Town might have some more work to do to get their squad to the right level, even if they finished above the Saints last summer.
That shouldn’t take away from the fact that Russell Martin is new to the league as a manager, and that it certainly won’t be easy for them to re-establish themselves at the first time of asking. They’ll still be one of the relegation favourites.
On top of that, the Blues won both meetings between the two sides last season. This clash at Portman Road comes after games against Manchester City and Liverpool and ahead of matches against Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. It’ll be a big one.
Nottingham Forest (H) – Saturday, March 15
Sandwiched in between a couple of tough spells around the run-in is a home game against Nottingham Forest, who avoided relegation from the Premier League by just six points last season.
They’ll be heading into their third consecutive top-flight campaign, but the last two have been far from easy. Supporters aren’t totally sold on Nuno Espirito Santo, and their reckless spending in the summer of 2022 has seen them face points deductions that might continue into next season unless they make sales or cut their spending.
At the moment, there’s little to suggest that they won’t be in another relegation battle, and that could make their trip to Portman Road absolutely crucial. If Ipswich have the chance to open up a gap ahead of their trip to Chelsea and their home game against Arsenal, they have to take it.
Last season, Forest won just four games on the road. Only Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley – who were all relegated – won fewer.
Leicester City (A) – Sunday, May 18
Depending on how Ipswich’s season pans out, this one could either be a dead rubber or the biggest game of their campaign. The penultimate clash sees them head to Leicester City, who pipped them to the Championship title last term.
Despite finishing a point above the Blues, there’s a lot more negativity surrounding the Foxes this summer. They’re facing a points deduction for PSR breaches despite selling star man Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, who also took manager Enzo Maresca a few weeks earlier.
That piles pressure onto new boss Steve Cooper, who wasn’t a popular appointment among the fanbase – who clearly preferred Graham Potter.
There’s certainly a chance that both Leicester and Ipswich are fighting to avoid relegation by the time they meet at the King Power Stadium. It could be a crucial showdown, and a chance for one side to pull clear.
Leave a Reply