Two new mornings begin at lunchtime on Saturday when Ipswich Town return to the Premier League to take on Liverpool in their first game of the post-Jurgen Klopp era.
Having been relegated to League One since their last run in the top flight in 2001/02, the Tractor Boys finished second after returning to the Championship and retaining influential manager Kieran McKenna for the challenges ahead.
The Reds bid farewell to Klopp at the end of 2023/24 and are now managed by Dutchman Arne Slot, who oversaw an unbeaten pre-season campaign in the summer.
Here it is 90 min preview of Saturday's clash between Ipswich and Liverpool.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool H2H Record (Last Five Matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Ipswich Town |
Liverpool |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town 1-0 Nice – 10/08/24 |
Liverpool 0-0 Las Palmas – 11/08/24 |
|
Hoffenheim 0-1 Ipswich Town – 03/08/24 |
Liverpool 4-1 Sevilla – 11/08/24 |
|
Ipswich Town 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf – 27/07/24 |
Liverpool 3-0 Man Utd – 04/08/24 |
|
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Ipswich Town – 20/07/24 |
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal – 01/08/24 |
|
Ipswich Town 2-0 Huddersfield Town – 04/05/24 |
Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis – 27/07/24 |
|
The country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ app, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Ipswich may be without as many as five first-team players for their return to the Premier League. Harry Clarke, George Hirst, Nathan Broadhead and Janoi Donacien are all ruled out, while there are doubts over Cameron Humphreys' fitness.
Left-back Leif Davis will be keen to provide plenty of attacking threats down low as he contributed 18 assists in the Championship last season, with striker Liam Delap likely to aim to provide them in midfield.
Ipswich Town predicted to face Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Muric; Johnson, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Taylor; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson; Delap.
Having yet to sign anything in the summer transfer window, Arne Slot's first official Liverpool starting XI will feature many familiar faces. Jarell Quansah could start the season alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defense ahead of Iraima Konate, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 with France in the summer.
Ryan Gravenberch will start in midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister after failing to pursue Martin Zubimendi, while Diogo Jota could get the nod from Darwin Nunez up front.
Liverpool predicted to face Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota.
There is no doubt that Portman Road will be absolutely rocking Ipswich's return to the Premier League and they will fancy their chances of making life difficult for a Liverpool side that is an unknown quantity at the start of Slott's tenure as manager.
However, the Reds have shown some promising signings early in the summer and still have impressive players such as Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mac Allister who can make important contributions in the big moments.
The Merseysiders should get a win early in Saturday's game but it could be tougher than expected.
Prediction: Ipswich 1-2 Liverpool
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