A run of three successive Premier League defeats has left Ipswich Town sitting second bottom of the Premier League so they desperately need a home win over doomed Southampton to get their survival bid back on track.
Staying in the top flight after successive promotions under Kieran McKenna looked like a tall order and the bookies had Ipswich down as favourites for the drop along with Saints and Leicester City before ball was kicked.
The three sides who came up from the Championship last term still lead the betting for relegation and Southampton are now just 1/100 with some firms after collecting a measly six points from their first 23 games.
Fourth-bottom Leicester are 11 points ahead of Saints so if they're going to spark the most unlikely great escape in Premier League history it will need to start with a win at Portman Road.
McKenna's biggest task for this game is lifting morale in the Ipswich ranks after a 6-0 loss at home to Manchester City was followed by a 4-1 spanking at Anfield, with their late consolation ruining two bets for Slips Tips.
The Tractor Boys remain just a point adrift of safety so a victory over struggling Saints would give their campaign a timely boost.
How the bookies view it: More misery for Saints
With Southampton in such dismal form, BoyleSports make them 14/5 outsiders for what would be just their second Premier League win all season. Ipswich Town are 20/23 favourites with home advantage while the draw pays 5/2.
Recent head to head: Southampton have the edge
These sides battled out a 1-1 draw on the south coast earlier this season, with Sam Morsy netting a late leveller for the Tractor Boys. Southampton have just edged it across the last 10 meetings, winning four and losing two, with the other four games ending level.
Players to watch: Delap hungry for more
Ipswich Town will need to get star striker Liam Delap scoring again if they're to climb out of the bottom three. The former Manchester City kid has fired blanks in his last three outings so could be due a goal and is 6/5 at BoyleSports for anytime scorer.
Paul Onuachu looks like a handful up front for Southampton and scored in the recent 3-2 defeat by Nottingham Forest. The powerful striker is 11/4 at BoyleSports for anytime scorer.
Probable line-ups
Wes Burns misses out for Ipswich after suffering a painful injury in the loss at Anfield, He joins Sammie Smozdics, Cheidozie Ogbene and Conor Chaplin on the sidelines.
Southampton keeper Aaron Ramsdale and winger Kamaldeen Sulemana missed last week's loss at Newcastle and look set to be sidelined again. They have joined Ross Stewart, Gavin Bazunu, Tyler Dibling, Juan Larios and Jack Stephens on the sidelines.
Ipswich Town: Walton, Davis, Burgess, Johnson, O'Shea, Godfrey, Morsy, Cajuste, Hutchinson, Philogene, Delap.
Southampton: McCarthy, Harwood-Bellis, Bree, Bednarek, Walker-Peters, Manning, Aribo, Ugochukwu, Armstrong, Fernandes, Onuachu.
Anything else catch the eye?
Ipswich have been taking some heavy beatings of late but it's important to remember the standard of opposition, with those losses coming against leaders Liverpool and champions Manchester City.
McKenna will be reminding his players they beat Chelsea 2-0 at home just a few weeks ago and I've a feeling Ipswich will find their form against an injury-hit Southampton side with morale at rock-bottom. Combining the home win with over 1.5 goals takes you to 13/10 in a BoyleSports bet builder.
Saints need a win if they're to stand any chance of getting out of trouble so it should be an open game. BTTS pays just 8/13 but if you add on over 2.5 goals it boosts the odds to 11/10.
We saw 12 corners when these sides faced off earlier in the season, with 10 of them going to McKenna's side. So Ipswich -2.5 in the corner handicap appeals at 8/5 while over 10.5 match flag kicks also looks good at 20/21.
This English Premier League match between Ipswich Town and Southampton will be played on Feb 1, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Ipswich Town vs Southampton prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
