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Sunderland v Ipswich
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Competition: Championship
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Kick off: 17:00
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Watch live: Sky Sports Main Event
One of the picks of the fixtures across the whole globe this weekend sees 48,000 people descend upon the Stadium of Light.
The feeling amongst both fanbases will certainly be much more positive than it was the last time these two met. Both clubs will be chomping at the bit for the season to start, in the best shape on and off the pitch that they have been for years.
The transformation of Sunderland has continues=d this summer as even more young and, hopefully, talented individuals have entered the Academy of Light.
A surprise play-off campaign last term was ahead of schedule, and a testament to the players and Tony Mowbray, after taking over from Alex Neil early last season. They, of course, did this without the help of a genuine centre-forward for the majority of the season. Ross Stewart may not feature much this season for Sunderland again, firstly through injury, and now also through transfer speculation as a result of Stewart not signing a new deal.
Ipswich, meanwhile, have a bucketload of positive feeling and momentum coming into this season. Whilst they didn’t win the League One title, they still smashed the division. There have rarely been performance metrics as dominant as the ones that the Tractor Boys put up in 2022/23. A goal difference of +66 only tells part of the story.
Whilst there are key unknowns, especially around some of Sunderland’s players, there are still some good betting angles to exploit ahead of this fixture. A Sunderland vs Ipswich Bet Builder of around 3/1 has been compiled, alongside a more risky, but still value, longshot at 28/1.
We are offering readers two bet builders ranging in odds to give you the best possible chance to finish your Sunday with a bang.
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ABC’s 3/1 bet builder
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ABC’s 28/1 bet builder
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Can Mowbray repeat the trick to get the Black Cats back into the playoffs?
Losing in the playoffs isn’t necessarily a bad thing for your prospects in the following season. There have been plenty of examples in recent years of teams that didn’t go up through the playoffs in one season managing to do so in the following season.
Whilst it may be a stretch to expect Sunderland to challenge for automatic promotion, they showed last season that the standard of their open-play football could be the best in the league. The rotations and movement of the dynamic players matched with the speed of thought and delivery on the ball were too much for some defences to handle.
More good news arrives in the shape of Luis Semedo. The young forward has been taken from Benfica’s academy after his progress to the first team looked to have stalled. His 6’4 frame is a bonus and his running power makes him more akin to a Dominic Calvert-Lewin type of forward rather than a pure target man type. He provides a focal point for the excellent movement of the other forward players.
The question is, can the balance be struck between attack and defence? Two young central defenders have been brought in, but it may take them a while to be ready. In the meantime, Danny Batth is still there, despite attention from Blackburn Rovers, and he may prove key at the beginning of the season to keep the unit together.
Tony Mowbray deserves the support of the fans and the board at the moment. There seems to be a slightly murky area of trepidation around the manager’s role and one feels as though a bad run will see a lot of pressure applied in the dugout. Mowbray has probably earned the right to patience.
Sunderland team news
Mowbray is likely to go with a 4-2-3-1 shape.
Trai Hume is primed for a fantastic full season, he had to fill in as a centre-back in the play-offs but will excel back at right back. Dennis Cirkin, if he can stay fit, is likely to be just as big a plus on the other side.
Seeing how the new players get on and seeing if we can keep improving the young players.”
Tony Mowbray on what he is most excited for ahead of the coming season
Dan Ballard has just signed a new multi-year contract at the club and is likely to be partnered by Luke O’Nien to begin with.
Dan Neil and Pierre Ekwah will resume their excellent midfield partnership from the play-offs and as two under-23 players they can only improve.
The forward unit will be led by debutant Semedo, with support from Patrick Roberts and Clarke from out wide. The #10 role could be filled by a bit more experience of Alex Pritchard, Bradley Dack isn’t fit enough to start yet, so the likelihood is that Jobe Bellingham could be trusted with a debut.
Can Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich emulate Southampton 2011/12 to win back-to-back promotions?
It is a good time to be a Tractor Boy. Probably not since George Burley’s famous Ipswich side which stormed into Europe in the late 1990s have Ipswich fans felt so connected to their team.
The appointment of Kieran McKenna, alongside a powerful budget for League One, and an extensive recruitment drive, allowed Ipswich to finally come good after a four-season stay in the third tier.
Now that they have returned to the Championship, the dominance that they exerted in a lower league may not be as easy to come by, but one suspects that they are going to continue to try. The way that McKenna believes successful football is played is with dominance of the ball and an attempt to win the ball back quickly.
The team looks settled, but there is a feeling that more needs to be done in terms of additions to achieve the goals that many have set out for them. George Hirst has re-joined after a successful loan in the second half of last season, but Hirst has failed to find the net at Championship level at Rotherham or Blackburn so far so there is no guarantee of success there.
There are a lot of question marks at the top of the Championship this season and it feels fairly open. The gate is ajar, can the Tractor Boys crash through?
Ipswich team news
It is a puzzle to predict how McKenna will line up. He could use three at the back or four at the back, and, in reality, it’ll probably end up as a hybrid of the two in and out of possession.
We do know though that Christian Walton is out injured, so Vaclav Hladky will have to start.
Luke Woolfenden comes off the back of a superb season and will start regardless of the system. In a three he may be partnered with George Edmundson on one side and Cameron Burgess on the other.
“We’re going to bring a few extra because we’ve had some niggles. We’ll bring a few extra to Sunderland and we’ll make the decisions if not Sunday then after training tomorrow on who’s going to be available for what minutes.”
Kierna McKenna on squad depth ahead of their clash against Sunderland
Sam Morsy is another guaranteed starter, the captain was allowed a more forward role when partnered with the likes of Lee Evans or Massimo Luongo, but he could partner Jack Taylor here and both are capable of playing that way.
Wes Burns is the usual RWB but had a niggle in pre-season, Kyle Edwards could deputise. Leif Davis is a lock on the left and is a key avenue for chances.
Conor Chaplin was a revelation in League One and has performed at this level before and he will play close to George Hirst in attack with Omari Hutchinson, signed on loan from Chelsea, also buzzing around the big forward.
Sunderland v Ipswich Cheat Sheet
Jack Clarke is always a threat in attack for any side he plays for, and the ex-Leeds man has been a revelation since signing permanently for the Wearside club. His evasiveness and ability to draw fouls make him a nightmare for any opposing full back. Ranking top of shooting and fouls drawn metrics of this Sunderland side, Clarke could well be a hefty addition to the shooting market for shots on target.
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ABC’s 3/1 Sunderland v Ipswich bet builder
⚽ Over 2.5 goals
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Odds: 1.85
Both of these managers and teams want to dominate and attack. That resulted in 101 goals for Ipswich Town last term and Sunderland saw plenty of goals at both ends at the Stadium of Light. Indeed, conceding goals at home contributed to a home record that wasn’t as good as you would expect from a good Sunderland side.
If both of those trends continue into the beginning of this season, we should see plenty of chances, and hopefully three or more goals.
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⛔ Pierre Ekwah to commit 1+ fouls
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Odds: 1.61
Ekwah probably didn’t want last season to end. The former West Ham midfielder really hit his stride in the last few weeks of the season and quickly became an integral player in the way that Tony Mowbray wanted his team to play.
He has great athleticism and power in his movement, as well as a box-to-box attitude which makes him very tactically versatile. He also played the full 90 minutes in the last few matches, which gives this bet every chance of landing.
He is a much bigger price than his midfield teammate Dan Neil, but both do a lot of work in the engine room.
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🚀 Jack Taylor to have 1+ shots
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Odds: 1.22
It is uncertain how Ipswich will use Taylor, but they bought him off the back of a great season for Peterborough where Taylor became increasingly influential in the attacking third.
There were a series of matches at the back end of the season in which Taylor fired off multiple shots a match. The way that Ipswich play would suggest that a lot of their players are shot threats but Taylor looks a decent price considering his likely role.
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ABC’s 28/1 Sunderland v Ipswich bet builder
⚽ Over 3.5 goals
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Odds: 3.30
If we get an early goal in this match then we could easily see a glut of goals with the attacking intentions of both sides.
Luis Semedo has looked the part in pre-season to fill the Ross Stewart role for Sunderland, Jack Clarke is a key player for the Black Cats and Patrick Roberts has been instilled with confidence by Mowbray. Bradley Dack is unlikely to be fit enough to start for Sunderland, but his goalscoring prowess could be a great addition in the last few minutes.
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⛔ Pierre Ekwah to commit 2+ fouls
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Odds: 4.0
For this to land we are looking for the Ekwah who came on for a few minutes against Coventry away last season and picked up two quick fouls.
There is definitely the potential in a midfield battle against Sam Morsy that there will be plenty of fouls and needle. Certainly the pace of the game should be intense and the readiness of the players may be a touch behind that level.
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🚀 Jack Taylor to have 2+ shots
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Odds: 2.20
This is in hope that Taylor will have some licence to get forward as he did at Peterborough. The good news is that usually, Taylor is happy to shoot from outside of the box, whether Kieran McKenna is happy with that tactic or not we do not yet know.
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