Key events
Pre-match postbag. “Leaving aside Liverpool’s less than imperial start to the season, you have to admit that’s a very tasty teamsheet on offer tonight – the right blend of youth, experience, Hungary’s answer to Bryan Robson and a World Cup winner in the middle of the park, a striker coveted by Man City, a Champions League winner on the bench and in Wirtz our very own Juan Sebastian Veron!” – Peadar de Burca
“Why’s Wataru Endo still at Liverpool? He’s 33 and hardly played last season under Slot. Iraola hasn’t included him in the Champions League roster so apparently he doesn’t think much more of him that Slot did. He’s got a good couple of years left in him as a DM somewhere” – Tony Hughes
“I’m worried that Liverpool’s new signing might not be aggressive enough for the league. I hear his Barcola is worse than his bite-ola” – Niall Mullen
It’s a proper mid-table clash tonight: 12th versus 13th. Tonight’s winner will almost certainly end the evening in fifth place; should the game end in a draw, Ipswich will make it into the top half of the table, while Liverpool would rise to 11th. All to play for!
(The usual po-faced early-season caveats apply, but where’s the harm in it?)
Gary O’Neil’s turn to speak to Sky Sports. “[The first half at Old Trafford] gives us a big belief that we can compete at this level … the home win against Sunderland was huge for us … we don’t really focus on outcome or results, we just try to commit to being the best version of ourselves all the time … we drifted away from that because of things that happened in the game [at Old Trafford] … it is important that we are better than that … we will be tested tonight, I am sure something will go against us … we can’t go toe to toe … we need to pick our moments … that will be really important for us … you need to be good with the ball … you can’t hang in there for 38 games of a Premier League season … I’m looking forward to it … let’s see if we can please this incredible place again … we’re ready … the group are in a great spot.”
More from Iraola on Sky. “It’s not the results you want, the two draws … we have also been losing both games … always from behind … when you start well, everything looks better … we will try not to concede goals from throw-ins like the other day … offensively the team is doing well but we are not getting the win … Alex [Isak] is feeling comfortable after a difficult season … it’s a good start for him … Ipswich at home is very strong … at Old Trafford they played a fantastic first half … they are doing well … [we need] to start stronger.”
Sky Sports anchor Kelly Cates asks Andoni Iraola whether he was tempted to start Bradley Barcola. “Yes … honestly I was tempted … he has looked good training … but it’s true that he hasn’t played any minutes in pre-season … he is ready … I think definitely we will use him in the second half … but also with some precaution because we do not want to lose him straight away … it makes sense, no, to have him on the bench … he is a smart player … he understands the game … he is quite shy, he doesn’t speak a lot … improving his English … he has his friends with him [Jeremy Jacquet and Hugo Ekitike] who he is more comfortable with … but he has been really good for the first week … I hope he does well straight away.”
Portman Road has become something of a fortress for Ipswich. They’re unbeaten in 18 league games at home. Seventeen of those matches were in the Championship, admittedly, but you can only deal with what’s put in front of you. Liverpool meanwhile haven’t won any of their last six Premier League fixtures, a run that stretches back to April. They’ll be hoping Alexander Isak’s personal form against Ipswich – he’s scored four in just two games, all for Newcastle United – will help them snap that sequence.
Ipswich Town make one change to the side sent out to start the 5-2 defeat at Manchester United. Exequiel Palacios, making his full debut for the Tractor Boys, replaces Marcelino Núñez in midfield. Zian Flemming, the new man in from Burnley, is on the bench.
Liverpool also make one change from their last match, the 2-2 draw at Anfield with Nottingham Forest. Ronald Araújo replaces Jeremie Frimpong at right-back. The new £106m signing Bradley Barcola is named as a substitute.
The teams
Ipswich Town: Scherpen, O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis, Lukic, Palacios, Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda, Emersonn.
Subs: Walton, Furlong, Kipre, Ouattara, Florentino, Nunez, McAteer, Clarke, Flemming.
Liverpool: Alisson, Araujo, van Dijk, Jacquet, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Munoz, Isak, Gakpo.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, Barcola, Frimpong, Gravenberch, Nyoni, Koumas, Ngumoha.
Referee: Darren England
VAR: Nicholas Hopton
Preamble
Ipswich Town were spanked 5-2 at Old Trafford last weekend, though the bald result doesn’t tell the whole story. Gary O’Neil’s newly promoted side were giving as good as they got until Harlem Globetrotters centre-back Harry Maguire hit paydirt, after which they could be forgiven for concluding it just wasn’t going to be their day. So chalk up just over one-and-a-half satisfying performances from two for the Tractor Boys, whose opening-day win over Sunderland means they’ve already notched as many top-flight home victories this season as they did in the whole of their disastrous 2023-24 campaign. They should be feeling pretty good about themselves.
Liverpool on the other hand were borderline abysmal at Newcastle, and not much better in the first half last weekend against Nottingham Forest. Their second-half display at Anfield, plus improved overall contributions from Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz, plus the mega-money signing of Bradley Barcola, should give them succour after consecutive 2-2 draws which have made life for new boss Andoni Iraola more awkward than is strictly necessary.
Given all of the above, would a shock Ipswich win this evening really be that much of a shock? On the other hand, Liverpool have won their last four Premier League matches against Ipswich to the cumulative tune of 17-1. How much importance should be placed on a record that stretches back to the days of Abel Xavier and Emile Heskey is a moot point, but it’s something Ipswich will doubtless consider nevertheless. So this is poised rather deliciously. We’ll start finding out what’s what from 8pm BST. It’s on!