Ipswich and Sunderland meet at Portman Road on Saturday evening, aiming to add fresh impetus to their respective Championship promotion pushes.
FA Cup action provided very differing results for these sides, with Ipswich prevailing 3-1 at Wimbledon and Sunderland being taught a lesson in a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of bitter rivals Newcastle.
Neither side have been exceptional in the Championship lately and, with both keen to get back on track sooner rather than later, a cagey affair could unfold at Portman Road.
Team news
Ipswich’s George Hirst will be out for the foreseeable future after undergoing hamstring surgery and captain Sam Morsy will be serving the second game of his two-match suspension.
Morsy’s absence means that new loan signing Lewis Travis could make a first start for Ipswich.
Dennis Cirkin, Niall Huggins, Bradley Dack and Patrick Roberts are all out for Sunderland, with Michael Beale likely to make a few changes following his side’s disappointing showing in the Tyne-Wear Derby.
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The stats
Ipswich are on an 11-match unbeaten run at Portman Road in the Championship but have drawn their last three after winning the previous eight.
The Tractor Boys have failed to win any of their last five Championship games and have scored just one goal in their last four games, accumulating an xG of only 2.4 in that quartet of fixtures.
None of Sunderland’s last seven away matches have gone over 2.5 goals and the Black Cats have won only one of their last nine trip to Portman Road.
However, winger Jack Clarke has scored in three of Sunderland’s last four away outings.
The latest Ipswich vs Sunderland odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Michael Beale will be hoping for a response from his Sunderland side
Michael Beale will be hoping for a response from his Sunderland side
Ipswich are beginning to feel the effects of Hirst’s absence and will surely be looking to strengthen up front this month after scoring just once in their last four Championship games.
They are winless in their last five league matches and recently failed to score against bottom-six sides Stoke and QPR, contributing to the Tractor Boys losing pace with league leaders Leicester.
Another uneventful Portman Road fixture may be on the cards too if trends are to continue, as none of Sunderland’s last seven away matches have seen more than two goals.
The Black Cats can be tough to break down and have recently recorded clean sheets against top-seven sides Leeds and Hull, suggesting they may frustrate the misfiring Tractor Boys on Saturday evening.
They are unlikely to add many to the tally themselves however, having scored just four goals in their last six matches, and a low-scoring affair looks likely.
Just two of the last eight meetings between these sides have gone over 2.5 goals and the same outcome should be expected with neither team finding the net with any frequency of late.
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SOURCE: livescore.com
