Arsenal will look to bring the curtain down on 2024 by claiming a win over Ipswich Town at the Emirates on Friday night.
Following a pair of back-to-back draws with both Fulham and Everton, the Gunners returned to winning ways in the Premier League by ruthlessly cutting apart Crystal Palace 5-1 at Selhurst Park last Saturday evening.
That triumph means Mikel Arteta’s side are occupying third place in the top-flight standings, six points adrift of league leaders Liverpool.
However, with Arne Slot’s table-topping Reds set to take on Leicester on Boxing Day, Arsenal could find themselves nine points off the pace by the time they take to the field against Ipswich.
After winning 2-1 away at Wolves a couple of weekends ago, the Tractor Boys were brought back down to Earth with a bump when being hammered 4-0 at home by Newcastle last time out.
Consequently, Kieran McKenna’s men will spend Christmas residing in the relegation zone, and it will take an almighty effort from them to emerge from the Emirates outside of the bottom three.
How the bookies view it: Gunners hot favourites
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal are overwhelming 1/7 favourites on Boylesports to bank all three points on Friday night.
Ipswich Town arrive in the capital as mammoth 16/1 outsiders on Boylesports, while an all square affair in the capital is also considered improbable at 7/1 with the same bookmaker.
Head to head: History favours the hosts
Arsenal and Ipswich will square off in the Premier League for the first time in almost 23 years on Friday night. The Gunners have avoided defeat in each of their previous nine top-flight tussles with the Tractor Boys, claiming top honours on all but one of those occasions.
Players to watch: More joy for Jesus?
Gabriel Jesus has rediscovered his shooting boots in the lead up to Christmas, firing in five goals across Arsenal’s two league and cup wins over Crystal Palace. Thus, the Brazilian forward merits support to get on the scoresheet against relegation-threatened Ipswich at even-money(1/1) on Boylesports.
Omari Hutchinson has been booked in four of his 16 Premier League appearances for Ipswich this season. The 21-year-old is 4/1 on Boylesports to go into the referee’s notebook during this festive contest.
Predicted line-ups
Arsenal have been dealt a major blow after Bukayo Saka suffered a torn hamstring against Crystal Palace. The Arsenal ace has been joined by Raheem Sterling in the Gunners’ treatment room.
Sam Morsy will sit this one out for Ipswich after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season against Newcastle, however Liam Delap will come off the naughty step after serving his own one-game suspension last weekend.
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Jesus, Havertz, Martinelli
Ipswich: Muric; Clarke, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis; Phillips, Cajuste; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson; Al Hamadi
Anything else catch the eye?
Making use of the Bet Builder tool, I’ll package up Arsenal to win, Over 1.5 goals and Martin Odegaard to be fouled at 4/5 on PaddyPower.
The Gunners have grabbed two or more goals in eight of their nine Premier League wins this season, including each of their five successes in front of their own supporters.
Throw in the fact that Odegaard has been fouled once or more in nine of his 10 top-flight appearances this season, then the above-mentioned Bet Builder looks like a nice way to get Arsenal onside at a backable price.
This English Premier League match between Arsenal and Ipswich Town will be played on Dec 27, 2024 and kick off at 20:15. Check below for our tipsters best Arsenal vs Ipswich Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
