The surprising advantage Ipswich Town have over Middlesbrough in promotion race | OneFootball

Ipswich Town are piling on the pressure as they close the gap to Middlesbrough in second to just three points

Ipswich Town are aiming to earn promotion back to the Premier League this season at the first attempt.

Kieran McKenna oversaw back-to-back promotions from League One to the top flight prior to their relegation in the previous campaign.

A second place finish in the Championship in 2024 took the division by surprise, ending the Suffolk outfit’s long wait for a place in the first division.

Their most recent season at the highest level of English football came in 2002, but they were only able to survive one year in the Premier League after they finished 19th in the table.

The race for automatic promotion this year is heating up as we approach the final fixtures, with just three points separating the Tractor Boys from second place Middlesbrough.

McKenna’s side also have a game in hand on their rivals, meaning their fate is still very much in their own hands with just 12 matches to go.

Ipswich Town’s surprising advantage over Middlesbrough

Ipswich have piled on the pressure on Middlesbrough with their 1-0 win over Hull City on Tuesday night.

It was Azor Matusiwa’s second half strike from outside the box that sealed an impressive three points against the side fifth in the Championship table.

The midfielder scored his first goal for the club since joining in the summer from Rennes, and it made him the seventh different goal scorer (excluding own goals) from their last five games in the league.

Sindre Egeli, George Hirst, Anis Mehmeit, Ivan Azon, Cedric Kipre and Leif Davis have all chipped in with goals in their recent games, with the team earning 12 points from the last 15 available.

Even in defeat, the Tractor Boys still managed to find the back of the net three times away to an in-form Wrexham.

Having so many different sources of goals at this stage of the season could be a huge difference-maker in the promotion battle, and it’s proving an area of weakness for Kim Hellberg’s side in comparison.

Over the same run of their last five games, Boro have scored just seven goals total, with only four different players finding the back of the net.

Ipswich Town’s attacking depth could be the difference over Middlesbrough

Both clubs have done well over the course of the season with having a variety of scorers, with 17 bagging for Ipswich and 16 for Middlesbrough.

However, it is becoming an area of concern for the Teesside outfit that their depth of attacking threat has dried up.

The 3-1 loss to promotion rivals Coventry City highlighted an issue for Boro in breaking down defences, while Ipswich cannot stop scoring at the moment.

Draws against relegation-threatened Oxford United and Leicester City in the aftermath of the defeat at the CBS Arena only further showed that Middlesbrough’s lack of attacking variety could be a critical factor in letting this top two position slip.

Ipswich have generated an expected goals (xG) of 57 this season, while Boro have an xG of only 45 in comparison, further showing that McKenna’s side have a clear edge in the final third over the course of the campaign.

While it’s a common belief in football that good defences win titles and good attacks win games, the importance for both of these clubs will be about out-scoring their top two rival, as every three points they can get will be huge between now and the final matchday.

Ipswich have a great depth of attacking talent between Jaden Philogene, Jack Clarke, Ivan Azon, George Hirst and Egeli.

January signing Mehmeti is now also contributing as well with goals against Wrexham and Swansea City.

Meanwhile, Hellberg’s side don’t quite have the same depth and Morgan Whittaker’s run of six games without a goal will now be a big concern for the team.

He is their top goal scorer, and there aren’t a huge amount of players stepping up to take on the burden in his place, so rediscovering his best could be huge for Boro.