Ipswich Town and Leicester City will go head-to-head in the Premier League at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon as both sides look to move away from the relegation battle.
The Tractor Boys are winless in the top flight so far this season following their promotion from the Championship and currently sit in 18th place in the division, two points adrift of safety with four points. Leicester on the other hand are one of two teams, along with Man City, to have scored in every game so far this season and currently find themselves in 15th place just five points above Ipswich.
Last time out Kieran McKenna’s side fell to a gut-wrenching 96th minute 4-3 defeat to Brentford, while Leicester were well beaten by Nottingham Forest in their last league game before a 5-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester United in midweek, so both teams will be desperate to get a win on the board.
Ipswich Town Team News
Several injury problems for McKenna
Part of the reason for the struggles of Ipswich this season has been injuries, and that is set to continue heading into this game with a host of players unavailable to the manager. Defender Axel Tuanzebe remains a long-term absentee following a freak accident at home which almost caused him to lose his thumb, while Massimo Luongo, Jacob Greaves, Jack Taylor and Harry Clarke are all set to miss out too. Chiedozie Ogbene is also set for a long spell on the sidelines.
Omari Hutchinson dropped out of the squad last week after feeling ill on the morning of the game so he could return, while Ben Johnson, Samy Morsy and Janoi Donacien will be assessed for the game.
Ipswich Town Injuries and Suspensions | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Injury | Potential return date |
Harry Clarke | Suspended | 10/11/2024 |
Ben Johnson | Thigh | 2/11/2024 |
Samy Morsy | Thigh | 2/11/2024 |
Omari Hutchinson | Illness | 2/11/2024 |
Jacob Greaves | Hamstring | 10/11/2024 |
Jacob Taylor | Other | 24/11/2024 |
Massimo Luongo | Ankle | 24/11/2024 |
Axel Tuanzebe | Hand | 30/11/2024 |
Janoi Donacien | Ankle | Unknown |
Chiedozie Ogbene | Achilles | August 2025 |
McKenna Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, McKenna shared a fresh update on the fitness of his squad.
“Chiedozie Ogbene had surgery yesterday. It was an Achilles tear. Unlikely he’ll play much, if any football this season. Will be looking at preparing for next season.
“Dara O’Shea has been playing with a ‘pretty severe back injury’. Very impressed by how he’s handled it. Sam Morsy should be available for the squad, but a late call on whether he could start against Leicester. Ben Johnson trained a bit today, some set piece training yesterday. Another late call.
“Massimo Luongo has trained today so could be involved. Omari Hutchinson is fine. The rest of the injured players are looking to return after the international break.”
Ipswich Town Predicted XI
Liam Delap to start
- Ipswich Town Predicted XI: Muric; O’Shea, Burgess, Woolfenden, Davis; Cajuste, Phillips; Clarke, Chaplin, Szmodics; Delap.
- Ipswich Town Predicted Substitutes: Slicker (GK), Townsend (DEF), Johnson (DEF), Donacien (DEF), Burns (MID), Broadhead (MID), Al-Hamadi (FWD), Hirst (FWD).
McKenna surprised fans by leaving Liam Delap out of the starting lineup last weekend, but the young striker came off the bench to score and should now claim his place in the team back despite George Hirst’s goal. Dara O’Shea is likely to move across to right-back to cover for the suspended Clarke, although Ben Johnson could slot in if fit too.
Leicester City Team News
Cooper dealing with injury issues
Cooper made several changes to his Leicester team for the clash with Man United in midweek, but they will be hoping some of their injured players are able to return to contention for the weekend clash.
Patson Daka and Victor Kristiansen have returned to training although this game could come too soon for them, while Jannik Vestergaard is available again in defence after an ankle problem. Issahaku Fatawu has suffered a groin problem and is a doubt for the game.
Leicester City Injuries and Suspensions | ||
|---|---|---|
Player | Injury | Potential return date |
Patson Daka | Ankle | 10/11/2024 |
Victor Kristiansen | Groin | 02/11/2024 |
Hamza Choudhury | Shoulder | 02/11/2024 |
Isshaku Fatawu | Groin | Unknown |
Jakub Stolarczyk | Ankle | 23/11/2024 |
Cooper Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-game press conference, Cooper offered an update on the health of his squad.
“You pick a team that you think is the best fit to deliver a plan to win a game. That’s doesn’t necessarily mean the players who played last night won’t play again at the weekend or vice versa. We’ve picked up a couple of knocks in the week.
“Abdul [Fatawu] was not available for the game last night through a groin [issue]. We had a few enforced changes last night but just because we went one way last night, it doesn’t mean we won’t go a certain way at the weekend.
“Pato (Patson Daka) is back in training as well. We’ve got a young guy, Michael Golding, training with us too. He’s a good young player. He had a spell out but he’s in training.
“Jannik returned to the pitch last night as well. Apart from Abdul, at the moment, it’s fairly positive.”
Leicester City Predicted XI
Jamie Vardy to continue in attack
- Leicester City Predicted XI: Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Ndidi, Winks; El Khannouss, Buonanotte, Mavididi; Vardy.
- Leicester City Predicted Substitutes: Ward (GK), Coady (DEF), Pereira (DEF), Vestergaard (DEF), Skipp (MID), Soumare (MID), Ayew (FWD), De Cordova-Reid (FWD), Edouard (FWD).
Kristiansen could come straight back into the side at left-back in place of Ricardo Pereira, who struggled against Forest last week. Fatawu is likely to miss the game and after a fine goal against Man Utd, El Khannouss should come into the team out wide to provide a goal threat while Jamie Vardy continues to lead the attack.