Ipswich Town will be looking to claim their first three points of the new League One campaign when they host MK Dons on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides could not be separated last season, as a 1-1 draw in October was followed by a goalless stalemate at Portman Road in April.
Match preview
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Ipswich are still searching for their first win of the 2021-22 campaign as they were beaten 2-1 by newly-promoted Cheltenham Town on Tuesday, despite leading the match after an hour.
Callum Wright's 62nd-minute header cancelled out Matt Penney's first-half opener, before the comeback was completed in the 81st minute when Ben Tozer's dangerous long throw-in was tapped in by Will Boyle at the near post.
Paul Cook, who has recruited 16 new players so far this summer, is yet to discover his best starting lineup with at least three changes made in each of his opening four matches this campaign. In addition, young defender Luke Woolfenden has had three different centre-back partners in the first three league games.
Ipswich, one of the favourites to win the League One title this season, now come up against another promotion contender in the form of MK Dons, who they have never lost against in six previous meetings.
The Tractor Boys are also unbeaten in their last 11 league matches at home, so Saturday's game could be a good fixture for the hosts to finally open their account to the new season.
Ipswich last suffered four consecutive defeats in March 2020, while Cook has not endured a run of four straight losses as a manager since losing five in succession when he was in charge at Wigan Athletic in August 2019.
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Liam Manning claimed his first victory as MK Dons head coach as his new side came from behind to beat Charlton Athletic 2-1 on Tuesday.
Jayden Stockley gave the visitors the lead in the 15th minute, but the hosts responded just three minutes later through Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott, who has scored in successive home games.
The Dons then took the lead in the 64th minute when the ball fell nicely into the path of Mohamed Eisa who tapped in from close range, securing all three points for Manning's men.
MK Dons have had to endure a tricky fixture schedule at the beginning of the new campaign and on Saturday they face another challenging encounter against Ipswich, who they have failed to beat in six attempts.
They have, however, drawn two of their three encounters at Portman Road and have already claimed a point at Bolton Wanderers this term, so Manning's side can take some confidence into this weekend's game.
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Team News
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Ipswich boss Cook is not expected to make too many changes to the starting lineup that lost to Cheltenham in midweek.
Cameron Burgess, who made his debut on Tuesday after signing from Accrington Stanley, will likely start again in the heart of the defence alongside Woolfenden, while one of Macauley Bonne or Louie Barry could support target man Joe Pigott up front.
As for MK Dons, they have no significant injury worries, though a goalkeeping dilemma is seemingly a concern for Manning, after Andy Fisher made his debut in the loss to Sunderland and showed enough promise to retain his place.
Fisher is set to keep his place ahead of Laurie Walker, while defenders Warren O'Hora, Harry Darling and Zak Jules are expected to start again in the back three.
Former Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran, who made his first appearance of the season as a substitute against Sunderland, will be hoping he can force his way into the first XI ahead of either Matt O'Riley or Ethan Robson.
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess, Penney; Harper, Evans; Fraser, Bonne, Edwards; Pigott
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Fisher; O'Hora, Darling, Jules; Baldwin, O'Riley, Robson, Harvie; Twine; Eisa, Parrott
We say: Ipswich Town 2-2 MK Dons
Three or more goals have been scored in five of the last six games involving MK Dons, with their last away fixture ending as a 3-3 draw against Bolton. Meanwhile, Ipswich have found the net in every league game so far this season, so goals are to be expected on Saturday.
The pressure will be on the hosts to secure their first three points this term, though we can see the visitors frustrating them on home soil and an entertaining score draw could on the cards.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ipswich Town win with a probability of 44.16%. A win for MK Dons had a probability of 29.14% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ipswich Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.86%) and 2-0 (8.17%). The likeliest MK Dons win was 0-1 (9.04%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.65%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.
