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Ipswich Town v Liverpool
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Kick Off: Saturday 17th August at 12:30
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Competition: Premier League
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Watch Live: TNT Sport
Portman Road is gearing up to host a Premier League fixture for 22 years and Saturday’s lunchtime rendezvous with Liverpool promises to be an exciting reintroduction to top-tier football for Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys.
For the visiting Reds, this weekend’s test in Suffolk marks the start of a new era as Arne Slot takes charge of the Merseysiders in a competitive contest for the first time. Liverpool haven’t lost their first game of any season since 2012 and Slot will be desperate for that record to remain intact.
Ipswich have been installed as 8.0 underdogs to scupper Slot’s start, with Liverpool priced as narrowly as 1.33 to open their account for 2023/24 with three points, and below we’ve picked out some markets with punting potential for Saturday’s showdown.
The Premier League returns for the 24/25 season on early Saturday afternoon and our signature football betting predictions are back in full flow. These include Premier League bet builder tips and Premier League accumulator tips, alongside our expert’s both teams to score tips to help you secure a winner this opening weekend.
In addition, our card betting tips, player shots on target tips, and fouls betting predictions are perfect for all of you avid bet builder crafters out there. Our Ipswich Town v Liverpool bet builder tips also provide great insight into Saturday’s midday clash.
Jota to have 1+ shots on target vs Ipswich
Ipswich Town v Liverpool Best Bets
Liverpool’s lunchtime opener at Ipswich on Saturday has all the makings of a tricky test for the Reds and backing Town with a +2.0 goal handicap looks like excellent value.
Portman Road has been a fortress for Ipswich under Kieran McKenna, they were beaten only once in 23 fixtures there in the Championship last season while averaging a searing 2.56 goals scored per game. BTTS also landed in a sizeable 74% of their home games in the second tier.
Liverpool dropped points in 10 of their 19 away assignments in the Premier League in 2023/34 and won by a margin of more than two goals on the road just twice in total (4-0 vs Bournemouth & 4-1 vs Brentford), while 74% of their away fixtures last term also produced goals at both ends.
They might ultimately have enough quality to deliver a win in Arne Slot’s first outing, though margins could be slim and it’s logical to expect some early-season bumps for Liverpool as they adapt to life under their new Dutch taskmaster.
Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah has plenty of pull in the anytime goalscorer market at the price of 1.83. Fresh from a restful summer and uninterrupted pre-season programme, the 32-year-old should be at peak fitness and his incredible record of scoring on the opening weekend of Premier League campaigns only adds to his credentials.
📂 Ipswich Town v Liverpool Cheat Sheet
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You can find even more match stats for this match on my bet builder stats tool, along with official line-ups one hour before kick-off.
Check out our list of the best Premier League free bet offers, best betting sites for accumulators and the top bet builder sites. In order to help you bet smarter, we have also collected a list of the best free bet offers, weekly free bet clubs, and best UK sports betting sites.
We aim to make our readers better punters, and guides such as our xG in football article are available on-site to help you take your research to the next level. Other useful pieces include our guide to betting on corners, and our tips for how to bet on the fouls won market.
📊 Ipswich Town Form and Stats
Ipswich’s return to the Premier League following a 22-year absence following back-to-back promotions from League One and the Championship was a remarkable achievement, though the Tractor Boys’ quest to become an established top-tier side will be their biggest challenge.
Town had a reputation for playing slick, on-the-deck, attacking football in the Championship, in fact, only Stockport (96) and Man City (96) were more prolific than Ipswich across England’s top four divisions last term.
Kieran McKenna has been credited with revolutionising Ipswich’s style of play and the in-demand 38-year-old’s decision to resist offers from elsewhere to stay at Portman Road this summer was a massive boost to Town’s survival hopes.
Former Manchester United assistant coach McKenna likes to deploy his troops in a 4-2-3-1 formation and Ipswich’s front-footed, possession-based approach in the Championship in 2023/24 helped them to top the pile for shots per 90 (15.57) and shots on target per 90 (5.52) in the division, while only four clubs finished the campaign with a better xGF (74.00).
19 different players contributed to Ipswich’s 92-goal haul in the Championship last season with Conor Chaplain (13), Nathan Broadhead (13) and Omari Hutchinson (10) the best performers in that department, while defender Leif Davis was a potent source of creativity from left back, lodging an incredible 18 assists.
Ipswich wrapped up their preparations for the new campaign nicely with successive 1-0 wins over Hoffenheim and Nice. Summer acquisitions Jacob Greaves and Liam Delap, signed from Hull and Man City respectively, were involved in both matches and could start against Liverpool. Last season’s joint-leading scorer, Nathan Broadhead, will miss Town’s opener with a thigh problem, however.
📊 Liverpool Form and Stats
Liverpool are preparing to contest a Premier League fixture with a new manager in charge for the first time since 2015, though there were enough promising indicators in their pre-season performances to allay fears of a massive drop-off post-Jurgen Klopp.
Arne Slot’s high-intensity brand of football at Feyenoord shared plenty of similarities with Klopp’s style of play at Liverpool and in theory at least, that should help to ease the transition between eras at Anfield.
Liverpool were unbeaten throughout pre-season and enjoyed confidence-building wins over Arsenal (2-1) and rivals Manchester United (3-0) in the USA, as well as a convincing 4-1 triumph over Sevilla in Slot’s first match in charge at Anfield.
Slot has been setting his team up in a very familiar 4-3-3 formation and Liverpool’s display against Sevilla on August 11th had all the hallmarks of a typical Klopp-led canter on Merseyside.
Interestingly, despite their dominance, Liverpool committed more fouls than Sevilla last weekend (11-6) and that tally aligned with the pattern of lofty foul counts associated with the Reds in last season’s Premier League.
Despite ranking third for average possession enjoyed per game (61.3%) in 2023/24, Liverpool sat third in the division for most fouls committed over the course of the campaign (463). Watch out for their cynical work off the ball again on Saturday.
Liverpool have been remarkably quiet in the transfer market and much to their supporters’ frustration, they have yet to make a signing. A move for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi fell through this week.
Still, even without reinforcements. their young squad has more than enough talent to compete for a top-four finish again, though veteran Mohamed Salah remains the star attraction.
Club icon Salah has scored in the opening game of the season in six of his last seven years for Liverpool. In fact, no other player in Premier League history has scored more goals on matchday one in the division than the prolific Egyptian.
⚔️ Ipswich Town v Liverpool Head-to-Head
Ipswich and Liverpool haven’t crossed paths in over two decades, though their last encounter all the way back in May 2002 was an eventful skirmish.
Town visited Anfield on the final day of the 2001/02 needing a positive result to save their Premier League skins, however, a 5-0 thumping on Merseyside which included two rockets from John Arne Riise’s left foot, consigned Ipswich to relegation.
Liverpool also ran riot at Portman Road (6-0) in February of the same year, in fact, the Reds have never lost a Premier League fixture at Portman Road (P5, W3, D2).
TV broadcasters have handed Liverpool the division’s first 12:30 kick-off of the new season – something that would have drawn a wry smile from Jurgen Klopp – though the fixture computer also paired the Reds with a newly-promoted opponent for the fifth time in six years.
Liverpool have a record of three wins and a draw from their four previous opening-day tussles with newly-promoted outfits since 2019, with the aggregate score from those ties reading 13-6 in the Reds’ favour.
* We recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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