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

From the Championship to the Premier League and back down to the Championship, recently-relegated Ipswich Town and Southampton collide in the second tier at Portman Road on Sunday.

The Tractor Boys are bidding to make it third time lucky after a winless start in all competitions this season, whereas the Saints are two for two in the league and EFL Cup.

Match preview

There was a time not that long ago when Kieran McKenna's name was being mentioned in the conversation of possible new Manchester United and Chelsea managers, and while the Ipswich boss remains incredibly highly-rated, he is yet to inject a new sense of life into his Tractor Boys side.

On the back of a feisty opening Championship draw with Birmingham City - where a large-scale scuffle broke out, leading to both sides being slapped with an FA charge - Ipswich played out another 1-1 stalemate with Bromley in the EFL Cup, but this one preceded penalty-shootout pain.

McKenna's men suffered a chastening 12-yard defeat to their League Two foes in midweek, although some may very well look on the bright side of a premature elimination, as one distraction from Ipswich's promotion push has now been removed.

However, if the third time is not the charm for the Tractor Boys this weekend, the omens are not promising; since the 2009-10 season, Ipswich have only failed to win both of their opening Championship games on one occasion, suffering that fate in the 2018-19 campaign.

No Ipswich fan will need reminding of where their side ended up that season - in the relegation zone - but it has been nearly two years since the hosts last lost a Championship game on their own patch, a thrilling 4-3 reverse to Leeds United in August 2023.

The losing at home fate very nearly befell Will Still's Southampton on the opening weekend, where newly-promoted Wrexham - backed by their boisterous travelling faithful - stunned St Mary's through a Josh Windass penalty midway through the first half.

However, the moment of magic the St Mary's faithful so desired arrived in the nick of time, as Ryan Manning's sensational free kick preceded a last-gasp strike from long-serving centre-back Jack Stephens, whose 96th-minute intervention sealed the most dramatic of 2-1 wins.

Still's expression - as seen above - told the story of a day where the Saints were pushed all the way and then some by their ever-improving visitors, but an opening-day win, no matter how hard-fought it was, was enough to propel Southampton into the playoff places after one game.

Still's men were the worthiest of winners if the statistics were anything to go by last weekend, though; the Saints registered 4.1 Expected Goals (xG), had 74.4% of the ball and completed a staggering 527 passes, all of which were the most of any Championship team on matchday one, and they followed up that success with a 1-0 EFL Cup beating of Northampton Town in midweek.

Furthermore, the Saints picked up just one of their two Premier League wins at Portman Road last season - bettering Ipswich by two goals to one in February - although the Tractor Boys did the double over their southern visitors during the 2023-24 Championship campaign.

Ipswich Town Championship form:

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

Southampton Championship form:

Southampton form (all competitions):

Team News

Absent from Ipswich's first two matches of the season, Omari Hutchinson has now seemingly played his final game for the Tractor Boys, as Nottingham Forest are reported to have agreed a deal for the former Arsenal and Chelsea talent.

Hutchinson will follow Nathan Broadhead out of the door - the winger has joined Hollywood-owned Wrexham - while on the injury front, Conor Townsend has undergone an ACL operation that could rule him out for the entire season.

Fellow long-term knee victim Wes Burns is keeping Townsend company on the sidelines, but it is not all doom and gloom up front, as new signing Chuba Akpom ought to be in line for his Tractor Boys debut following his loan switch from Ajax.

In terms of Southampton's availability, Still has confirmed that neither James Bree nor Will Smallbone will return from their injuries in time for Sunday, but defensive duo Charlie Taylor and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are both raring to go.

At the other end of the field, 19-year-old starlet Tyler Dibling is practicing with the group again, and Still will make a late decision on the involvement of the Premier League-linked attacker.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Johnson, O'Shea, Greaves, Davis; Ogbene, Matusiwa, Taylor, Clarke; Szmodics; Hirst

Southampton possible starting lineup:

Bazunu; Edwards, Quarshie, Stephens; Sugawara, Downes, Fernandes, Welington; Dibling, Robinson; Downs

We say: Ipswich Town 1-1 Southampton

Portman Road has been a happy hunting ground for Southampton in previous campaigns, as the Saints have prevailed in three of their last four clashes there, managing a staggering 12 goals in the process.

However, even with Ipswich reeling from a shock cup exit, McKenna's full-strength XI should frustrate their foes in a heavyweight clash that has a draw written all over it.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.