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League One | Gameweek 23
Dec 18, 2021 at 3pm UK
Portman Road
Sunderland

Ipswich
1 - 1
Sunderland

Norwood (45+1')
Burns (68')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Broadhead (50')
Winchester (52'), Flanagan (60'), Stewart (62')

Preview: Ipswich Town vs. Sunderland - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Ipswich Town and Sunderland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Ipswich Town will aim to end a five-game winless run when they welcome Sunderland to Portman Road on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sunderland enter the fixture in third position in the League One table, with the visitors looking to collect a third consecutive victory.


Match preview

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson after the match on September 21, 2021© Reuters

John McGreal is still looking for his first win as interim boss since taking over the reins from Paul Cook following his sacking as Ipswich manager on December 4.

After losing to Charlton Athletic in his first game in charge, McGreal would have been content with a hard-earned point last weekend as James Norwood struck late on to ensure their encounter with Wigan Athletic ended 1-1.

Despite salvaging a point in that encounter, the Ipswich dressing room will be in low spirits after crashing out of the FA Cup following a 2-0 defeat to Barrow in their second-round replay during the week.

With no cup competitions to focus on for the rest of the season, the Tractors Boys will concentrate on trying to improve their league position, with Saturday's hosts currently occupying 12th position.

Although they face a tough test at the weekend, Ipswich will aim to utilise home advantage once again after winning four of their last six league games at Portman Road.

Meanwhile, Sunderland are flying at the moment having embarked on a six-game unbeaten league run, which has seen them rise up the table to third place.

Goal difference is the only reason that the Black Cats sit just behind Wigan Athletic, who occupy second position, and Lee Johnson will be fully aware that a positive result at the weekend could see his side move into the automatic promotion places.

Their home success continued last weekend as they edged out Plymouth Argyle, with Dan Neil and Nathan Broadhead scoring to help Sunderland to a 2-1 victory despite Dan Scarr netting for the Pilgrims in the second half.

Although they have lost just once at home in the league this season, Sunderland have struggled to match that form on their travels, collecting just 14 of their 42 points on the road this term.

With their opponents out of form, Johnson will see Saturday's contest as a prime opportunity to find their fifth away victory, with Sunderland looking to replicate the 1-0 win that they achieved at Portman Road last season.

Ipswich Town League One form:
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • D

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • L

Sunderland League One form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W

Sunderland form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W



Team News

Sunderland's Nathan Broadhead celebrates scoring their first goal against Wigan Athletic in the EFL Cup on September 21, 2021© Reuters

The hosts are likely to be without the services of Wes Burns and Bersant Celina, with injury issues set to rule the pair out of Saturday's contest.

After scoring last weekend, Norwood could earn a first league start of the season on Saturday.

Ipswich could name a similar side to the one that managed to collect a point away at Wigan last weekend.

Meanwhile, Dennis Cirkin, Corry Evans and Denver Hume have all returned to training, but the weekend's encounter will come too soon for the trio.

Lynden Gooch is a doubt for Saturday's fixture after picking up an injury against Plymouth last weekend.

If Gooch is not available then Johnson may have to make slight alterations to the midfield, which could lead to Elliot Embleton getting a starting opportunity.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Walton; Vincent-Young, Edmundson, Burgess, Donacien; Aluko, Evans, Morsy, Edwards; Norwood, Pigott

Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Hoffmann; Wright, Flanagan, Doyle; Winchester, Neil, Pritchard, Embleton, Dajaku; Broadhead, Stewart


SM words green background

We say: Ipswich Town 1-2 Sunderland

On Saturday, two of the biggest clubs in League One face off, and in recent times Sunderland have had the success after winning the last four fixtures between the sides, and we think the visitors will collect another victory at the weekend.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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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 Sunderland win with a probability of 37.1%. A win for Ipswich Town had a probability of 35.85% and a draw had a probability of 27%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sunderland win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.09%) and 0-2 (6.56%). The likeliest Ipswich Town win was 1-0 (10.19%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.84%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.8% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Ipswich vs Sunderland

Ipswich Town
33.3%
Draw
16.7%
Sunderland
50.0%
18
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Sunderland's Nathan Broadhead celebrates scoring their first goal against Wigan Athletic in the EFL Cup on September 21, 2021
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14Watford451317156058256
15Sunderland45168215252056
16Millwall451511194455-1156
17Queens Park RangersQPR451411204557-1253
18Stoke CityStoke451411204560-1553
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn451311215874-1650
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds45148234268-2650
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth451212215870-1248
22Birmingham CityBirmingham451211224965-1647
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield45918184875-2745
RRotherham UnitedRotherham45412293287-5524


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