Relegation battlers Ipswich welcome Brighton to Portman Road in the Premier League on Thursday, and we’ve got the latest team news and predicted lineups included in our preview ahead of the clash.
Ipswich vs Brighton Preview
With both sides coming into Gameweek 21 having secured victories in the FA Cup third round over the weekend, relegation battlers Ipswich Town host Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday evening.
The Tractor Boys cruised to a 3-0 win over League One side Bristol Rovers in their cup tie, extending their unbeaten run to three straight matches, following on from their 2-0 victory over Chelsea and their 2-2 draw against Fulham.
Kieran McKenna’s side head into the gameweek in 18th place in the English top-flight table, level on points with 17th place Wolves and just one point behind 16th place Everton, while they are two points ahead of 19th place Leicester City.
Coming up on Thursday. 🏡💪 pic.twitter.com/214Lce6Aiz
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) January 14, 2025
Brighton, meanwhile, occupy 11th place ahead of the action, ahead of the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United, and they come into this one off the back of a 4-0 win over Championship side Norwich in the cup.
Despite their comfortable victory over the weekend, they are winless in eight successive Premier League outings. This run includes draws in each of their last four league matches, as well as defeats to Crystal Palace and Fulham.
Thursday’s clash will be the second time that the pair have faced off this term, with the reverse fixture at the Amex in mid-September ending in a goalless stalemate. In fact, each of their last three meetings have ended in draws.
Ipswich Team News
The Tractor Boys remain without long term absentee Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), while Conor Chaplin (knee), Axel Tuanzebe (thigh), Omari Hutchinson (groin) and Sammie Szmodics (foot) are also ruled out.
With Szmodics and Hutchinson absent, Wales international winger Nathan Broadhead will be hopeful of retaining his place in the starting lineup for a third successive league outing, with Liam Delap almost certain to lead the line.
Atalanta loanee Ben Godfrey could be in line to make his league debut for the club, having featured in the cup on Sunday, as it is expected that Ipswich will revert to a back five after fielding a back four at the weekend.
Brighton Team News
As for Brighton, they are without all of Igor Julio (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (ankle), James Milner (thigh), Jack Hinshelwood (knee), Mats Wieffer (thigh), Diego Gomez and Evan Ferguson (ankle).
Georginio Rutter (knock), Yankubah Minteh (knock), Tariq Lamptey (illness) and Joao Pedro (ankle), meanwhile, are doubts and face late fitness tests ahead of the trip to Suffolk.
In more positive news, central defender Lewis Dunk makes his return to the fold after recovering from a calf issue.
Ipswich vs Brighton Predicted Lineups
Ipswich Predicted Lineup:
Walton; Johnson, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Burns, Taylor, Broadhead; Delap
Brighton Predicted Lineup:
Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; O’Riley, Baleba; Gruda, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck
Ipswich vs Brighton Prediction
Despite going eight successive Premier League matches without a victory, the UK’s best football betting sites have identified the Seagulls as favourites to claim all three points at Portman Road on Thursday night.
We at SportsCasting believe this is a tough one to call, but we’re predicting a 1-1 stalemate.
Ipswich have registered some impressive results in recent weeks, beating Wolves and Chelsea, as well as drawing with Fulham, and we believe a positive result against Brighton could be their next scalp.
Recent meetings between the pair point towards a draw too, with each of their last three meetings since September 2016 ending in either 0-0 or 1-1 stalemates.
Prediction: Ipswich 1-1 Brighton
