Preview: Ipswich Town vs Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

Alvaro Arbeloa will be looking to claim his first Premier League win at the sixth time of asking when he takes his Fulham side to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon.

These two teams meet for the first time since January 2025 when Raul Jimenez scored a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a 2-2 top-flight draw at Craven Cottage.

Match preview

Ipswich Town currently sit 11th in the Premier League table, above the likes of Manchester United and Aston Villa, after accumulating six points from their opening five matches this season (W2 L3), twice as many as in the 2024-25 campaign.

After leaving it late to beat 10-man Crystal Palace in gameweek four, the Tractor Boys lacked a clinical touch in a slender 1-0 defeat at Everton prior to the international break, failing to convert any of their 13 attempts on goal.

Given that Ipswich played the final 25 minutes a man down following Abdul Fatawu’s red card, head coach Gary O'Neil felt that his team were “unfortunate to leave with nothing”. The result represents O'Neil’s 50th defeat in 93 Premier League games as a manager, making him the seventh quickest boss to reach that tally.

Only Chelsea (12) have conceded more goals in the Premier League so far this season than Ipswich (11), who have now failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 24 top-flight matches – a club-record run that highlights their defensive frailties.

The Tractor Boys also head into Saturday’s contest with Fulham winless in their last seven league meetings (D3 L4), with their last victory over the Cottagers coming in December 2015 when both clubs were competing in the Championship (2-1).

Fulham are one of three Premier League teams (along with Tottenham and Bournemouth) who are still searching for their first victory of the season after collecting just two points from their opening five fixtures (D2 L3).

Seven goals were shipped in three consecutive defeats to kick-start the campaign, but Alvaro Arbeloa’s men have shown signs of a revival with back-to-back league draws against Liverpool (0-0) and Manchester United (1-1), with an EFL Cup win over West Ham (3-2) sandwiched in between.

Arbeloa was left frustrated after Fulham conceded an 89th-minute equaliser to draw with Man United prior to the international break, and the Spanish coach has since been charged by the FA for his post-match comments, claiming the referees ‘would not let Man United lose’.

Sitting 19th in the table, Fulham are now preparing for a run of three successive fixtures against all of the newly-promoted clubs and will bid to avoid going six consecutive league matches without a win in the same season for the first time since their final 10 games of the 2020-21 campaign (D2 L8).

The Cottagers are winless in all four of their previous top-flight meetings with Ipswich (D3 L1) – the joint-most they have faced a team without ever winning in the division (also four against Watford) – but they have only been beaten once in their last 15 Premier League fixtures against promoted clubs (W9 D5), which bodes well ahead of Saturday’s clash.

Ipswich Town Premier League form:

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

Fulham Premier League form:

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Team News

Ipswich will be without suspended winger Fatawu this weekend, while it remains to be seen whether midfielder Jack Taylor will be fit to return following a spell out with a knee injury.

Daizen Maeda and Jaden Philogene are both strong contenders to take the place of Fatawu on the right flank, while Jack Clarke, Julio Enciso and Emersonn are all expected to retain their starting spots in attack.

Issa Diop, who joined Ipswich from Fulham in the summer, is set to face his former club and partner Dara O’Shea at centre-back, while 6ft 9in goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen is pushing to replace Christian Walton between the sticks after being dropped against Everton.

As for Fulham, captain Tom Cairney remains out with a knee injury, but right-back Kenny Tete should be ready to return to the matchday squad after dealing with concussion.

New signing David Affengruber is set to continue at centre-back alongside Calvin Bassey, forcing Joachim Anderson to remain on the bench, while a midfield triumvirate of Sander Berge, Shea Charles and rising star Joshua King should remain intact.

Although Gonzalo Garcia has not scored in any of his last four games since the opening weekend of the season, the Spaniard is expected to lead the line once again ahead of Rodrigo Muniz.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Ouattara O'Shea, Diop, Davis; Palacios, Lukic; Philogene, Enciso, Clarke; Emersonn

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Leno; Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Charles; Bobb, King, Iwobi; Garcia

We say: Ipswich Town 2-2 Fulham

Ipswich and Fulham have routinely showcased plenty of attacking intent while remaining defensively vulnerable in the opening weeks of the campaign, conceding a combined 19 goals already after five matches.

Their last two top-flight battles ended all square, and given that there is currently little separate these two teams, we can see the spoils being shared once again in a high-scoring draw in Suffolk.

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