English Championship: Game Week 25
Stadium: Portman Road Stadium
29th December 2023
Ipswich Town will welcome Queens Park Rangers at Portman Road Stadium in Game Week 25 of the English Championship. Ipswich will try to win their first game in three matches. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?
Receive Your Welcome Bonus!Ipswich Town form
Christmas celebrations may have been somewhat subdued at Portman Road following Ipswich's recent matches against Norwich City and Leeds United. The team's confidence was low, but they had a chance to redeem themselves against league-leading Leicester on Boxing Day. However, Leicester took the lead with a beautiful goal from Stephy Mavididi. Controversially, Ipswich was not awarded a penalty after a challenge on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but they managed to equalize through a fortunate deflection off Ricardo Pereira's foot and Jannik Vestergaard's head, with Sam Morsy scoring the goal. This late equalizer prevented Leicester from extending their lead in the standings. Southampton now has a smaller gap to close on Ipswich, who have also struggled to win their last three games. In addition, Ipswich's match against Leicester marked the eighth consecutive home game where they both scored and conceded goals. While their defense on home turf is not the best, their 33 goals scored is unmatched by any other team in the top half of the table.
Ipswich Town Predicted Lineup
Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Williams; Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson, Chaplin, Broadhead; Jackson
Queens Park Rangers form
After experiencing a positive start under new manager Marti Cifuentes, with only one loss in their first seven games and a three-match winning streak, the going has become more difficult for QPR in recent matches. Like Ipswich, they are looking to secure their first win in four attempts as they approach their final game of 2023. They suffered their third consecutive Championship defeat against Millwall on Boxing Day, with two late goals making the difference. Tom Bradshaw scored just before halftime, and Murray Wallace sealed the victory in the final moments of the game. This defeat leaves QPR in 22nd place, five points away from safety. Cifuentes, after the match, emphasized that he is not a miracle worker and urged his players to take responsibility for their performances. QPR's weak offensive record of only one goal in their last 360 minutes of play will not help their chances of success on Friday. Additionally, their previous unbeaten run against Ipswich came to an end in August when they lost 1-0.
Queens Park Rangers Predicted Lineup
Begovic; Kakay, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Cannon; Paal, Field, Dozzell; Willock, Dykes, Chair
Ipswich Town vs Queens Park Rangers Expert Tips
Ipswich has not been able to defeat QPR twice in a season since Roy Keane managed the team in 2009-10. However, with their strong scoring record and QPR's current struggles, Ipswich should take advantage of this opportunity to revive their chances of winning the title. McKenna's team has struggled with defensive discipline this season, but considering QPR's poor form in front of goal, we can only foresee a convincing victory for Ipswich.