Preview: Manchester City vs Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to bounce back from their midweek defeat in the Champions League, Manchester City welcome Ipswich Town to the Etihad Stadium for gameweek seven in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Citizens have fond memories of their most recent encounter with the Tractor Boys in January 2025, when they secured a thumping 6-0 win at Portman Road.

Match preview

Enzo Maresca’s eight-game winning streak across all competitions as Man City manager has come to an end, after his Citizens side – watched on by Pep Guardiola at the Etihad – suffered a 4-2 home defeat to reigning Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in a thrilling contest on Wednesday.

It was a game of two halves that saw a scintillating PSG outfit race into a 3-0 lead inside the opening half-hour, before City fought back and dominated the second 45 minutes, with Erling Haaland netting two record-breaking UCL goals for a Citizens side that had 27 shots and 52 penalty-box touches in total.

A “lucky” win for PSG came three days after Man City secured a statement 3-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield in their first Premier League match since they were found guilty of breaching the division’s financial regulations. Maresca’s men are the only team boasting a perfect record after six top-flight games and sit pretty at the summit, three points clear of champions Arsenal.

Maresca could become the first manager in PL history to start a new campaign with seven straight wins if City prevail against Ipswich, while the Sky Blues could become just the third team to achieve the same impressive feat after Chelsea in 2005-06 and Liverpool in 2019-20 – both sides went on to win the title in those seasons.

In front of a raucous atmosphere for their first Premier League home game since the 114 charges verdict, Man City should be confident of success on Saturday as they have been beaten in only two of their last 32 top-flight matches (W22 D8), while they have lost just two of their last 22 home league fixtures since the start of last season (W17 D3).

Ipswich have won three of their opening six matches at the start of a Premier League season for just the second time after 1993-94 (W3 D2 L1) and they currently sit 10th in the table after securing promotion last season.

It took the Tractor Boys 19 games to register three victories during the 2024-25 campaign, but Gary O'Neil’s side have followed up triumphs this term against Sunderland and Crystal Palace with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win at home to Fulham last weekend, despite trailing with only two minutes of normal time remaining.

Abdoul Ouattara’s equaliser was netted shortly before captain Dara O'Shea headed home a 92nd-minute winner to seal a “deserved” win for O’Neil, who has been encouraged by the “quality” shown by his team that he believes is required to compete in the top tier.

Premier League survival remains the number one priority for Ipswich, who already sit six points above the relegation zone and will attempt to win their first top-flight match away against Man City since November 2000 (3-2) when they travel to the Etihad this weekend.

However, concerns remain in defence for the Tractor Boys, who have conceded the joint second-most goals in the division this term (12), and have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 25 Premier League matches, shipping a total of 62 goals at a rate of 2.48 per game.

Manchester City Premier League form:

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Ipswich Town Premier League form:

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Man City have a clean bill of health for the visit of Ipswich, while Phil Foden is available for selection after serving a three-game Premier League suspension following his red card against rivals Man United on September 13.

Ayyoub Bouaddi, Iliman Ndiaye and Matheus Nunes all made positive impressions as half-time substitutes against PSG and will hope to be rewarded with a start on Saturday. Nunes is seemingly the most likely to earn a recall at right-back at the expense of Abdukodir Khusanov.

A potential start for Bouaddi could see Rayan Cherki make way and Enzo Fernandez pushed into an advanced midfield position, while Ndiaye will battle with Jeremy Doku and Antoine Semenyo for a start on either flank.

Erling Haaland is expected to lead the line once again; the Norwegian striker has scored 10 goals in just nine appearances across all competitions this term, while he also netted four times in just two games against Ipswich during the 2024-25 season.

As for the Tractor Boys, they also have no injury or fitness concerns, while Abdul Fatawu is pushing for a recall on the right flank after serving a one-match suspension. Daizen Maeda and Jaden Philogene are both at risk of losing their starting spots out wide.

Florentino Luis and Sasa Lukic both started in midfield against Fulham, but the former could be replaced by Exequiel Palacios, while goalkeeper Christian Walton is hoping to start his third consecutive league game ahead of 6ft 9in summer signing Kjell Scherpen.

O’Neil may be tempted to deploy a five-man defence for the first time this season, but he may instead stick with a back four including Ouattara, O’Shea, Issa Diop and Leif Davis.

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Fernandez; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Manchester City 4-0 Ipswich Town

A chorus of boos during the pre-match Premier League anthem from the Etihad faithful is expected, and the Sky Blues should capitalise on a roaring home crowd as they endeavour to make another statement in the top tier and bounce back from their loss to PSG.

Facing an Ipswich outfit that is far from watertight at the back, conceding an average of two league goals per game this term, Man City possess more than enough attacking verve to breach the visitors' defensive lines, and we can envisage a sky-blue onslaught from Maresca’s men on home soil.

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