Ipswich Town will be aiming to snap out of a rough patch as they welcome Sunderland to Portman Road for a Championship fixture on Saturday. Ipswich are solid at home and should have the upper hand over Sunderland, who often find things difficult on their travels.
The task for Ipswich Town at the moment is to breathe new life into their promotion quest as they are without a win in their last five Championship matches. They remain second on the standings but are now 10 points behind leaders Leicester City while third placed Southampton are just three points behind them.
The good news for Ipswich Town is that they have suffered just one defeat in that poor run of results. Kieran McKenna’s men were held to a 0-0 draw by Stoke City in their previous Championship before claiming a 3-1 victory at AFC Wimbledon in an FA Cup clash last weekend.
Any recalibration is likely to begin at home and the positive for Ipswich Town is that they have lost just once in their last 13 matches across all competitions at Portman Road. Among their results in that run is a 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Sunderland appear to have found their rhythm in recent weeks and have claimed two wins and a draw from their last three Championship matches. They are still holding on to the final promotion playoff spot but have the likes of Hull City sitting just one point behind and breathing down their neck.
The Black Cats claimed a 2-0 victory over Preston North End last time out in the Championship with Alex Pritchard and Nazarii Rusyn getting the goals. However, they were knocked out of the FA Cup last weekend after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Premier League side Newcastle United.
A slight problem for Sunderland in recent times is their poor record on their travels having picked up just one win from their last eight away matches. Michael Beale’s men have suffered four defeats in that run and were held.1-1 by bottom side Rotherham United in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Ipswich Town have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 21/20 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Sunderland is valued at 27/10 by Paddy Power while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 by bet365.
Head to head
Ipswich Town have an 18-16 advantage with seven draws from 41 previous matches against Sunderland. The Hatters also claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in August with Nathan Broadhead opening the scoring.
Players to watch
Nathan Broadhead has been one of the standout players for Ipswich Town this season and will be keen to add to his eight Championship goals. The forward was on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 5/2 by Paddy Power to find the net on Saturday.
Sunderland will look to Jack Clarke to provide the spark in attack having found the net 12 times this season. The forward has been on target three times in the last four away matches and is priced at 3/1 by bet365 to maintain that scoring run at Portman Road.
Anything else catch the eye?
Ipswich Town and Sunderland have quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 8/11 with bet365. Ipswich saw over 3.5 goals in their FA Cup clash last weekend and could be set for a similar outcome at 9/4 with Betfred while over 2.5 goals is valued at 17/20 with bet365.
Ipswich Town scored in both halves in the reverse fixture and could be set for a repeat at 9/4 with bet365.
This England Championship match between Ipswich Town and Sunderland will be played on Jan 13, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Ipswich Town vs Sunderland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
