Fulham vs. Ipswich: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

This is a tough game to call, as despite coming into the game as underdogs, there are a few good reasons to be confident that Ipswich can claim a result. Fulham have won only one of their last five at home, which included a 1-4 loss to Wolves, while Ipswich have won two of their last four on the road, and they games they lost were all against the league's better sides, all of which were competitive games where the Tractor Boys lost by only one goal.

Fulham have also made a serious habit of drawing games, having drawn five of their last seven, so it feels like there's a solid chance they could be held to yet another draw this weekend. Fulham 1-1 Ipswich.

Ipswich Town are looking for successive wins for the first time this season as they take on Fulham in the Premier League.

• Date: 05/01/2025
• Kick-off time: 14:00
• Location: Craven Cottage, West London

Fulham come into this game in 8th place in the Premier League with 29 points from 19 games. The Cottagers are enjoying an excellent season under Marco Silva and are chasing a top seven finish. With Silva at the helm, Fulham are one of the most well-coached sides in the league and come into this game with only one defeat from their last 11 games in the league.

Fulham will be frustrated by the fact they’ll feel they should have picked up more points of late, with the team overly prone to drawing games, evidenced by the fact they’ve drawn five of their last seven. Many of those draws have been against the league’s better sides, but there are games in there that they could, and probably should, have won.

Still, it would be exceptionally tough for fans of the Cottagers to have any complaints, with the team well in contention for European football next season. Fulham have an expected goals rate of 1.48xG per game, which puts them 9th in the league, and an expected goals against rate of 1.34xGA, which puts them 7th in the league. The underlying numbers surrounding their league performance are strong and suggest that they’re quite likely to sustain their current level of performance. Whether the teams around them get stronger as the season progresses is a different question, but it’s a good time to be a Fulham fan and they’ll no doubt be excited for what’s in store for the remainder of this campaign.

Ipswich Town currently sit 18th in the Premier League with 15 points from 19 games. The Tractor Boys are battling hard in their first Premier League campaign since the early 2000s and are determined to make a fist of their survival bid. This season has been full of ups and downs and the team has taken a few batterings, but they have a commendable ability to repeatedly bounce back from setbacks and it can be argued that the team is showing continued progress.

Ipswich have gone toe-to-toe with some of the league’s best teams this season but their issue has largely been an inability to sustain their performance levels for a full 90 minutes, with the intensity often tailing off after around an hour. This has led Kieran McKenna’s side to concede a number of late goals, which has lost them a huge number of points. Still, though, the team has shown notable improvements in that regard in recent weeks, and they come into this game with two wins from their last four matches.

In Liam Delap, Ipswich have one of the league’s most exciting strikers, and in Omari Hutchinson, they have a very impressive young winger. There’s a lot to like about this Ipswich side, and although they’re a young team, you get the feeling that there’s enough quality in the side for them to stay up if they can iron out some of their flaws. Survival will be a monumental job, no doubt, but it’s not out of their reach, and points at venues like Craven Cottage would help their cause immeasurably.

This game will be aired live to all subscribed UK viewers on Sky Sports Main Event.

Fulham Team News:

Fulham are still missing Reiss Nelson, Harrison Reed and Kenny Tete, while Sander Berge remains a doubt.

Marco Silva isn't expected to make wholesale changes to his side here, but the likes of Tom Cairney and Emile Smith-Rowe will be hoping to come in for Andreas Pereira in midfield.

Predicted lineup: Leno; Castagne, Diop, Anderson, Bassey, Robinson; Wilson, Pereira, Lukić, Iwobi; Jiménez.

Ipswich Team News:

The Tractor Boys are expected to be without Chiedozie Ogbene, Axel Tuanzebe, George Hirst, Cieran Slicker and Massimo Luongo.

Goalkeeper Christian Walton should keep his place in the starting lineup after impressing since coming in, as Kieran McKenna edges towards naming the same starting XI for the second week running.

Predicted lineup: Walton; Burns, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Hutchinson, Morsy, Cajuste, Broadhead; Delap.

Fulham:

Fulham come into this one with one win and four draws from their last five games. Last time out, the Cottagers were foiled by a late equaliser as they drew 2-2 with Bournemouth after Raúl Jiménez and Harry Wilson had given them a 2-1 lead.

Before that, Fulham claimed an impressive 2-1 win away at Chelsea where a pair of late goals from Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz handed them a big three points, a result that followed a 0-0 draw with Southampton.

Those results came after a 2-2 draw at Liverpool where Andreas Pereira and Muniz grabbed the goals, which followed a 1-1 draw at Arsenal, with Jiménez registering his name on the scoresheet.

Ipswich:

Ipswich are amidst a solid run of form having won two and lost three of their last five games. Most recently, McKenna's side claimed an impressive 2-0 win over Chelsea thanks to goals from Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson, which was preceded by a 1-0 defeat away at Arsenal and a 0-4 hammering at the hands of Newcastle.

Prior to that, Ipswich claimed a 2-1 win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Jack Taylor bagged an injury-time winner after an own goal had given them the lead, which was preceded by a 1-2 loss to Bournemouth, where goals in the 87th and 95th minute handed them a tough defeat after Conor Chaplin had given them a first half lead.

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