Ipswich vs Liverpool Prediction and Tips: Two data-driven picks for the Tractor Boys return to the top flight
Ipswich’s first game in the Premier League since 2002 is a big one. They welcome Liverpool to Portman Road in Saturday’s early kick-off and they will be hoping to pull off an upset. Scott Thornton is in the tipping hotseat with his best bets.
Ipswich vs Liverpool Predictions
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Kieran McKenna has guided the Tractor Boys from League One to the Premier League in just two seasons, earning plenty of plaudits in the process. He was a rumoured target for both Chelsea and Manchester United at the start of the summer, but the talented young coach penned a new deal. Ipswich have since been busy in the transfer market in the hope of extending their stay in England’s top-flight
The first of our betting angles in our main bet builder is for both teams to score in the match. Ipswich are the underdogs against a Liverpool side that have slugged it out with the best teams in the world in recent years, but the Premier League new boys won’t be overawed.
Kieran McKenna’s team scored the most goals in the Championship last season with an average of two goals per game. That increased to 2.57 goals per game if we only include the data from their league games played in front of their home fans. The atmosphere will be electric come Saturday lunch time and that should only increase the home side’s attacking intent.
Liverpool’s attack were rampant last season. They finished the season with a greater xG than any other side in the Premier League and that helped them score an average of 2.26 goals per game.
Jurgen Klopp has departed, and Arne Slot has taken on the mantle at Liverpool, but the Dutchman remains committed to producing a similar sort of attacking football to his predecessor. As a result, we are backing over 25.5 shots in the match here.
The Reds’ league matches last season saw an average of 31.68 shots per game. They were one of only two teams whose matches averaged over 30 shots in the Premier League. That dropped to 29.32 in their away matches but it’s still well above what’s required for this bet to win.
Under McKenna, Ipswich are a high pressing team and that should serve them well in the top flight. They will aggressively press Liverpool here in the hope of forcing turnover high up the pitch. This should help them get shots away.
Like Liverpool’s, Ipswich's matches also ranked highly in terms of shots last season. The Tractor Boys’ home game saw an average of 28.17 attempts, more than any other Championship side.
For our longer odds bet builder, we are betting on the same markets as the shorter odds bet but with an increased shot line. We are also adding Liverpool to win and over four cards in the match.
Liverpool have plenty of technically gifted players in their ranks. That, coupled with their aggressive approach without the ball, leads to plenty of cards. There was an average of 4.95 cards per Liverpool game last season. Only four side’s Premier League matches saw more.
The Championship sees fewer cards than the Premier League, but Ipswich home matches did see 4.22 cards on average. Disrupting Liverpool’s rhythm is their best chance of getting a result here so expect them to make some crunching tackles.
Tim Robinson is the referee for this one. The only Liverpool game he refereed last season was when Burnley headed to Anfield in February. He handed out five yellow cards in that match.
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