English Championship: Game Week 2
Stadium: Portman Road
12th August 2023
Ipswich Town will welcome Stoke City at Portman Road in Gameweek 2 of the English Championship. Both teams are coming on the back of a victory in the opening fixture. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?
Receive Your Welcome Bonus!Ipswich Town form
After being promoted from League One, it was widely believed that Ipswich had the potential to establish themselves in the second tier and potentially challenge for promotion. Despite it being early in the season, Ipswich showcased their quality by securing a 2-1 victory against last season's playoff semi-finalists Sunderland. The team then went on to secure a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Cup, demonstrating that there is strong competition for places within the squad. While there may be a desire to add more players to the squad, the foundations have been laid for a new era at Ipswich, which could potentially lead them back to the Premier League. However, their upcoming fixtures do not get any easier as they face a newly-revamped Stoke side.
Ipswich Town Predicted Lineup
Hladky; Donacien, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo; Burns, Chaplin, Broadhead; Hirst
Stoke City form
Stoke's manager, Alex Neil, has made significant changes to the squad after a disappointing previous season. They secured a 4-1 victory against Rotherham United in their opening fixture and also had a narrow win against West Bromwich Albion in the EFL Cup with a rotated squad. Neil will emphasize that there can be no complacency moving forward, but it appears that Stoke now has a group of players better equipped to handle the challenges of this division. On a negative note, Neil must find a replacement for Jacob Brown who has moved to Luton Town after contributing 30 goals and eight assists in his 141 appearances for Stoke.
Stoke City Predicted Lineup
Travers; Hoever, Rose, Wilmot, Stevens; Pearson, Laurent; Chiquinho, Johnson, Vidigal; Mmaee
Ipswich vs Stoke Expert Tips
Although Ipswich holds a slight edge in terms of favouritism for this match, Stoke has assembled a team with the potential for a strong promotion campaign this season. Considering this, we anticipate a closely contested draw as the probable result, an outcome that both teams would likely accept. We predict Stoke win or a draw as the likely outcome of the game with both teams being on the scoresheet.