It is a battle of the top two as leaders Leicester City welcome second placed Ipswich Town to the King Power Stadium for a Monday night Championship fixture. Both teams have set the pace for much of the campaign so a closely fought encounter is expected, although the Foxes will be confident of claiming the upper hand having looked imperious at home all season.
Leicester City are coming off a 3-1 defeat to Coventry City in their previous Championship fixture. They took a first half lead through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall but capitulated after the break following a red card to Abdul Fatawu.
That was an uncharacteristically poor performance and result from Leicester City, who have been head and shoulders above everyone else this season. Enzo Maresca’s men remain seven points clear at the top of the standings and having claimed nine wins and two draws prior to the trip to Coventry City, will be confident of making a swift return to winning ways.
The King Power Stadium has been Leicester City’s fortress all season and they have won their last five home matches. Some of their heaviest wins have come at home with a 4-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle among their recent results while they also eased past Huddersfield Town 4-1 in their previous fixture in front of their fans.
Ipswich Town travel to The King Power Stadium off the back of a 2-1 victory over Sunderland last time out in the Championship. They fought back from a goal down with efforts from Kayden Jackson and Conor Chaplin earning them the win.
It was a much needed return to winning ways for Ipswich Town, who had been on a five match winless run in the Championship. The result was enough to keep them second on the standings but they are now just three points above fast rising Southampton.
One of the problems for Ipswich Town is a poor record on their recent travels having picked up just two wins from their last seven away matches. Kieran McKenna’s men are also winless in their last two away matches, failing to score in both fixtures.
How the bookies view it
Leicester City have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 19/20 by Betfred. A victory for Ipswich Town is valued at 3/1 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 13/5 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Leicester City have a 23-22 advantage with 14 draws from 59 previous matches against Ipswich Town. Both teams played out a.1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in December, although the Foxes have won the last two meetings at the King Power Stadium.
Players to watch
Stephy Mavididi continues to carry the attacking threat for Leicester City and heads into Monday’s clash with six goals in his last eight Championship matches. The forward was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 21/10 by Paddy Power to maintain his scoring run.
Conor Chaplin ended a lengthy dry spell with the winner last time out and will be the one to watch for Ipswich Town on Monday. The forward is Ipswich’s leading scorer with nine goals and could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 16/5 with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
Leicester City and Ipswich Town have quality in attack and with both teams on target in the reverse fixture, a repeat could be considered at 8/13 with William Hill. There have been over 3.5 goals in Leicester’s last three matches and a similar outcome is priced at 2/1 with BetVictor while over 2.5 goals is valued at 4/5 by bet365.
The Foxes have scored in both halves in three of their last four matches across all competitions and a similar outcome is priced at 9/5 with BoyleSports.
This England Championship match between Leicester City and Ipswich Town will be played on Jan 22, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Leicester City vs Ipswich Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
