Ipswich Town vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

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·20 de abril de 2025

Ipswich Town vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Arsenal travel to Portman Road to face relegation-threatened Ipswich Town this weekend.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be in a confident mood following their emphatic two-legged victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Vídeos OneFootball

The Gunners are still without defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori this afternoon, although the latter is close to recovering from a knee injury. Jorginho is dealing with a rib issue he sustained last weekend against Brentford.

Initial assessments suggested Kai Havertz’s season was over as a result of a significant hamstring injury. Arteta, though, has suggested that the 25-year-old could feature before the campaign concludes.

Ipswich could be relegated this weekend if they fail to win against Arsenal and Wolves beat Manchester United.

The senior squad is depleted with as many as seven first-team players out for the visit of Arsenal. Kieran McKenna’s options at right-wing are particularly limited with Wes Burns, Chiedozie Ogbene and Jaden Philogene-Bidace all long-term absentees.

Philogene-Bidace is the latest forward to be sidelined after examinations confirmed the Englishman damaged his medial collateral ligament against Chelsea.

Kalvin Phillips is a doubt after picking up a knock last weekend while former Arsenal player Omari Hutchinson has missed the last three matches.

Liam Delap was only fit enough to make the bench for the 2-2 draw with Chelsea due to a rib injury, but should recover in time to start this afternoon.

Ipswich Town vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Form

Ipswich: LLWLD

Ipswich are refusing to go down without a fight as they collected a hard-fought point against Chelsea last Sunday.

They stunned the Blues after gaining a sizeable advantage within half an hour. Brighton loanee Julio Enciso and Ben Johnson both netted their first goals in Ipswich colours to put the visitors in control at the break.

However, an Axel Tuanzebe own goal and an unstoppable hit from Jadon Sancho denied them their fifth league victory of the campaign.

The Tractor Boys’ poor home form is one of the driving factors towards their shortcomings in the league. They have only won once at Portman Road all season, which incidentally came against Chelsea in December.

Read – Arsenal predicted lineup and team news vs Ipswich Town

Arsenal: WDWDW

Arsenal achieved arguably their greatest victory under Mikel Arteta in midweek when they beat Real Madrid in the Champions League. They had a three-goal lead to protect at the Bernabeu and they exceeded what was expected of them in the Spanish capital.

Bukayo Saka atoned for a missed penalty with a deft chip over Thibaut Courtois while a mistake from William Saliba allowed Vinicius Jr to equalise on the night. With virtually the last kick of the game, Gabriel Martinelli calmly slotted in the second to guarantee Arsenal’s spot amongst the last four of the competition.

Their reward is a semi-final tie against Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain that is already fast approaching.

Arsenal have almost accepted the fact that Liverpool are destined to lift the Premier League title this season. 13 points separate them and the league leaders – a distance that is likely to be unassailable.

Last Meeting: Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich, Premier League, 27th December 2024

A first-half goal from Kai Havertz was the difference in the last encounter between the two sides.

Ipswich threatened to break the deadlock in north London in the opening exchanges and Sammie Szmodics almost latched onto a dangerous cross from Leif Davis.

Midway through the first period, patient play from the hosts resulted in the winner. Leandro Trossard burst clear of Axel Tuanzebe and picked out Havertz in the six-yard box for an easy finish.

Prior to the interval Arsenal found the back of the net once again. Gabriel Jesus somehow managed to squeeze the ball in from the tightest of angles but his efforts were in vain. The linesman had correctly flagged for offside as the Brazilian had slightly mistimed his darting run.

The Gunners’ search for a second continued in the second half. Goalscoring Gabriel was left unmarked from a corner but inexplicably headed wide with the goal gaping.

Martin Odegaard was then thwarted by the outstretched glove of Arijanet Muric before Dara O’Shea bravely blocked Declan Rice’s volley.

Despite their valiant defending, Ipswich couldn’t breach David Raya’s net and returned home empty-handed.

Read – Arteta backs Rice to get even better after Real Madrid masterclass

Predicted Line-ups

Ipswich XI: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis; Phillips, Cajuste; Johnson, Enciso, Clarke, Delap.

Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Partey, Rice; Saka, Odegaard, Trossard, Merino.

Who is the referee?

Chris Kavanagh will be the match official. Dan Cook and Richard West will assist him while Tom Nield will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Darren England and he will be assisted by Steve Meredith.