Preview: Ipswich Town vs Derby County - prediction, team news, lineups

Ipswich Town will be looking to end their winless start to the season when they welcome Derby County to Portman Road this Saturday.

The Tractor Boys have only picked up a couple of points since the start of the new Championship campaign, while the Rams have also experienced a slow start to the year.

Match preview

Adjusting to life in the Championship after a season in the Premier League is no easy task; in fact, many clubs over the years have struggled to settle in the second tier.

Ipswich are certainly one of those sides after kicking off their campaign with a couple of draws and a defeat – a winless run which leaves them with just two points ahead of the fourth matchday.

In fairness to the Tractor Boys, their first couple of fixtures were far from straightforward; Kieran McKenna’s men travelled to a pumped up Birmingham City side on the opening weekend and came away with a draw after scoring a late equaliser.

Just one week later, Ipswich welcomed Southampton for their first home game of the season and once again played out an encouraging 1-1 stalemate.

The Blues backed that up by enduring their first league defeat last weekend, with their trip to Preston North End culminating in a narrow 1-0 loss.

Similarly to their upcoming opponents, Derby are also waiting for their first victory in the Championship this season.

John Eustace and his men kicked off their campaign with a 3-1 defeat at Stoke City, and they have since followed it up with a 5-3 loss against Coventry City and a 1-1 draw with Bristol City.

The Rams also had a couple of mixed results in the EFL Cup, winning their first round encounter against West Brom before bowing out against Burnley last Tuesday night.

Conceding goals has been a big problem for Derby, who have already seen nine scored against them in three Championship matches, so Eustace will be looking for a tighter defensive display against Ipswich.

Ipswich Town Championship form:

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Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

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Derby County Championship form:

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Derby County form (all competitions):

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Team News

Ipswich Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi has missed the last couple of games with a calf injury, and he is expected to remain on the sidelines this weekend.

There are also question marks over Wes Burns and Conor Townsend, with the pair likely to miss out on Saturday.

Derby have made two new additions to the squad since their last game, with midfielder Lewis Travis reuniting with Eustace from Blackburn Rovers and Scottish full-back Max Johnston signing from Austrian champions Sturm Graz.

Patrick Agyemang and Lars Jorgen-Salvesen have both returned to training, but Saturday’s game may come a little too soon.

Kane Wilson made his long-awaited return against Burnley, while Curtis Nelson remains sidelined after suffering a minor setback.

Sondre Langas and Corey Blackett-Taylor are also making progress but are not available for selection just yet.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup: Palmer; Davis, Greaves, O’Shea, Johnson; Matusiwa, Taylor; Philogene, Szmodics, Clarke; Hirst

Derby County possible starting lineup: Vickers; Rooney, Sanderson, Forsyth; Ward, Adams, Clark, Goudmijn, Elder; Weimann, Jackson