Ipswich Town welcome Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup and you can find our preview, prediction, team news and predicted lineups below.
Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers Preview
Ipswich have endured a difficult start to the 2024/25 campaign, as they compete in the Premier League for the first time since 2002.
Kieran McKenna’s men earned back-to-back promotions from League One all the way to the elite division and have picked up 16 points from 20 matches – sitting in 17th.
However, beating Chelsea and drawing with Fulham in their latest fixtures will give them huge confidence and will be hoping to make use of that in the FA Cup.
Last season, the Tractor Boys were eliminated by non-league Maidstone in one of the biggest FA Cup upsets in recent years and have not won the competition since 1977/78.
In fact, Ipswich have not made it past the fourth round of the FA Cup since 2006/07 and have been knocked out by the likes of Barrow (21/22), Lincoln (16/17), Accrington (18/19) and the previously mentioned Maidstone (23/24).
As for Bristol Rovers, form in the league has been far from impressive, winning just one of their last eight matches and the Gas currently sit one place above the relegation places in League One.
They earned a trip to a Premier League side after beating Weston Super Mare and Barnsley in the previous rounds and are hoping to reach the FA Cup fourth round for the first time since 2007/08.
The club sacked Matt Taylor after a run of poor results and new boss, Inigo Calderon will be looking to build on a 1-0 win over Cambridge in their latest league clash.
Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers Team News
The Tractor Boys will not be able to call upon Omari Hutchinson for the FA Cup clash on Sunday, as the winger is dealing with a muscular issue.
Conor Chaplin, Axel Tuanzebe and Chiedozie Ogbene are also out of action with injuries and the agreed deal with Aston Villa to sign Jade Philogene is unlikely to be completed in time
As for Bristol Rovers, their top marksman Promise Omochere is unable to travel down to Suffolk meaning the Gas will have to find another option up front.
However, Calderon will be able to put Jack Hunt back into the matchday squad as the defender returns from an injury that has kept him out of action for over two months.
Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers Predicted Lineups
Ipswich Town: Muric; H. Clarke, Burgess, Woolfenden, Townsend; Phillips, Taylor; J. Clarke, Burns, Broadhead; Al Hamadi
Bristol Rovers: Griffiths; Moore, Wilson, Taylor, Sousa; Lindsay, Ward, Thomas, Sotiriou, Sinclair; Martin
Ipswich Town vs Bristol Rovers Prediction
The Tractor Boys are heavy favourites on UK betting sites due to their Premier League status and Kieran McKenna will be hoping for a simple task on Sunday.
We expect Ipswich to progress into the next round with no issue and win by three-clear goals and they should keep a clean sheet in the process.
Prediction: Ipswich Town 3-0 Bristol Rovers
