The third round of the new Premier League season continues on Saturday afternoon with multiple matches kicking off at 3:00 PM. One of the several fixtures that will be played simultaneously is the game between Ipswich Town and Fulham.
It may not be the biggest game of the weekend but it may be one of the matches neutrals will want to watch to see how Ipswich Town fares in the League and whether their play style can work against a tough opponent like Fulham. The blues have been handed a trial by fire to start their return to the Premier League and the Fulham match will be one where they look to prove themselves with a team they may be able to go toe to toe with.
It has been a long road for Ipswich Town to get back to this level. They were relegated in 2002 from the Premier League after only managing nine wins the whole season and were one of the worst teams in the League despite qualifying for Europe the season before.
From that moment on came Championship Playoff disappointments, ownership failures, several managers and even a relegation into the third tier of English football. In the 18/19 season, they hit rock bottom when they went down to League One for the first time since 1957.
They then took a gamble on Kieran McKenna in December 2021 and the former Manchester United coach became their head coach. They finished 11th in his first half-season in charge but amassed 98 points and got an automatic promotion to the championship in his second season.
It was more of the same for Ipswich, as they took the Championship by storm last season. With 96 points from 46 games, they finished one point behind Leicester City in the Championship title race and gained promotion to the Premier League, their second automatic promotion in a row.
“Next season will be the challenge. We kept an incredible level of consistency from League One to the Championship in all aspects really and we’re going to have to do it again. It’s a massive job. We will try to keep the best things from what we have and the most important things that have helped us get here and to try to bring them to a completely different level.”
“There’s a fantastic history, with some amazing managers who brought this club to the very highest level of European football,” he said. “We know we’ve progressed a lot in a short space of time but we have a long way to go to be in that sort of company. We’re so proud of what we’ve done but hopefully, there are good days ahead for the club as well. It’s something to cherish.”
Of the three promoted sides, they will hold the most attention this season and a big win against Fulham will underline that fact.
On paper, Fulham will be favorites to win in this fixture as they have Premier League experience on their side and Marco Silva’s men will be gunning for three points away from home.
The London club have ambitions of becoming a top-half team this season after they ended last season 13th on the Premier League table. This will be Fulham’s third straight season in the top flight after being a yo-yo club for four years and their ambitions have now gone beyond just being a Premier League mainstay.
Marco Silva described last season as a tough challenge for many reasons and he also felt like they fell short of expectations despite another solid year.
“I cannot hide from you, in one moment of the season, before the last international break, my ambition, my feeling, I expected us to fight for something more.
“Looking forward to the next season, no one can stand still in this football club. It’s going to be much more competitive, much, much more.”
One of the improvements they must make going into the new season will be goal scoring. The cottages managed to score 55 goals last season and ranked as the 14th most potent attack in the League.
The loss of Aleksandar Mitrovic led to a decrease in their attack potency but this season, deals in the transfer market as well as players like Andreas Pereira, Carlos Vinicius and Rodrigo Muniz contributing with more goals will help them make progress.
With so many key players lost, the ambition that Marco Silva is speaking about may not materialize this season and if Fulham are not careful, they may end up getting dragged into a relegation scrap this term.
Match Tickets
Ipswich Town vs Fulham tickets are up for sale online for fans to purchase. As usual, a sold-out crowd is expected at Portman Road for their second home game of the new season. Fans of the Blues will be up for the fixture and the stadium will be loud in support of their newly promoted team
The game will be played at Portman Road on Saturday, 31st of August at 1:30 PM. Fans in and around the United Kingdom where Sky Sports’ coverage reaches will be able to enjoy the game at that time.
The Premier League is broadcast to 212 total provinces in the world, which means that fans outside the United Kingdom have to tune in to one of the league’s broadcast partners in their province for the game.
Team news
New signings, Liam Delap, Arijanet Muric and Jacob Greaves will be expected to start for Ipswich while the likes of Omari Hutchinson and Leif Davis will feature in the match against Fulham as well.
Fulham have no injuries to worry about at the moment and they will most likely play with their strongest team. Calvin Bassey, Willian and Alex Iwobi will be required to play key roles for their team.
Lineups
Ipswich will be looking to impose themselves on Fulham with their strongest team and we might get to witness one of their best performances this season.
Ipswich Town: Muric, Tuanzebe, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis, Luongo, Morsy, Broadhead, Hutchinson, Burns, Delap.
Fulham will lineup with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation with Andreas Pereira playing behind Carlos Vinicius up front and Calvin Bassey and Tim Ream at central defence.
Fulham: Leno ; Tete, Ream, Bassey, Robinson, Willian, Lukic, Reed, Iwobi, Pereira, Muniz.
Prediction
Playing a streetwise side like Fulham this early in the season will prove a tough test for Ipswich Town but they will need to adapt quickly if they want to get anything out of the fixture. Ipswich Town have a great style of play but they will still need to go through and adjustment period and there will be lapses Fulham will try to exploit.
Ipswich 2-2 Fulham
