It’s been a promising start to the season for Ipswich Town, but a critical period lies just around the corner.
The Tractor Boys are back in the top flight after earning promotion from the Championship at the first time of asking.
The last time they were in the Premier League, Ipswich picked up just 22 points and four wins, finishing 19th and going down with Leicester and Southampton. They already have half that win tally after just five games of this campaign, beating Sunderland 2-1 at home on the opening weekend and Crystal Palace 3-2 away in mid-September.
Up next for Gary O’Neil’s men — sandwiched between the two international breaks — are five crucial fixtures: Fulham (h), Man City (a), Nottingham Forest (h), Hull (a) and Bournemouth (h). That run sees the Tractor Boys face a host of sides in various states of form, from winless Fulham to Man City, who have a perfect record but will be reeling from recent off-field developments.
What have Ipswich Town done well so far to put themselves on six points at this early stage, and where do they need to improve to ensure they make the most of their upcoming fixtures?
Counter-attack specialists
Ipswich’s 2024/25 Premier League failure was fuelled largely by a blunt attack, scoring just 36 goals in 38 games — with only their relegated counterparts holding a worse record. The early signs this season are much healthier.
O’Neil’s side have failed to score twice, in defeats to Liverpool (2-0) and Everton (1-0). However, they’ve scored more than once in their other three games, beating Sunderland 2-1 and Crystal Palace 3-2, while netting twice in a 5-2 defeat at Manchester United that flattered the Red Devils.
That scoring streak extends to the EFL Cup, where Ipswich beat Leicester 3-1 in round two, before scoring twice from 4-0 down to give Arsenal a brief scare at Portman Road.
Only seven sides have scored more than Ipswich’s seven top-flight goals this season, but they’ve found the net through quality rather than quantity. The Suffolk side are 16th in the Premier League for shots attempted (58), but have hit the target with 39.44% of them to sit ninth for shots on target.
All of that has been to the tune of 7.7 xG, with only seven teams boasting a better record in a group that includes Man City, Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Ipswich have been most effective on the counter-attack, with eight of their nine fast breaks yielding a shot — only Man Utd (11), Chelsea (11) and Arsenal (9) have managed more shots from fast breaks.
There have been some promising signs individually, too. Summer signing Emersonn already has two goals and an assist, scoring the opener in the win against Sunderland and netting Ipswich’s first and setting up their second in the 3-2 victory at Palace.
Leif Davis was the man Emersonn set up that day, returning the favour after the left-back had assisted the Brazilian’s earlier goal. The defender has come down from his incredible Championship numbers of a few years ago, but seems to be getting back to his best, with two goals and an assist in the Premier League and another assist in the EFL Cup.
Another summer striker signing, Zian Flemming, was vital to beating Palace as well, ultimately bagging the last-minute winner in just his second appearance since arriving from Burnley.
As you’ll see, there are some defensive issues that need ironing out, but Ipswich have so far had no problems finding the net on their Premier League return.
Positive defensive signs but lapses remain
The raw defensive numbers aren’t too pretty for Ipswich. The Championship runners-up are yet to keep a clean sheet in any competition this term, while only Chelsea (12) have conceded more goals in the Premier League than their 11.
Those goals have come from 86 shots conceded, with Coventry (87) and Newcastle (97) the only teams worse off than Ipswich in this regard. Kjell Scherpen and Christian Walton have combined to make 16 saves, making them one of the busiest goalkeeper units in the division, while Ipswich’s 9.0 xGC is the third-highest in the Premier League.
But it’s not quite so clear-cut. Five of Ipswich’s 11 goals conceded (45.45%) came at Old Trafford, with huge caveats; the first four Man Utd goals featured an unfortunate slip, an own goal laced with VAR controversy, a penalty and a scrappy series of rebounds and mishits.
Take out the 33 shots Ipswich conceded at Old Trafford, and they’re averaging 13.25 shots conceded per match, which would leave them ninth in the Premier League.
That heavy defeat aside, Ipswich have been defending their box relatively well. O’Neil’s men are third in the Premier League for interceptions (51) and have only conceded one set-piece goal.
Can Ipswich tighten up to maximise upcoming fixtures?
Ipswich are not leaking goals in the manner they were two years ago, but the harsh reality is they’re yet to keep a clean sheet, while their -4 goal difference is one of the worst in the Premier League.
Each of their upcoming fixtures before the next international break presents an opportunity:
- Fulham are 19th and winless.
- Man City are distracted by off-field chaos.
- Nottingham Forest are struggling for goals.
- Ipswich did the double over Hull last season and haven’t lost any of their last five meetings with the Tigers.
- One of Ipswich’s four league wins two years ago came against Bournemouth, who are yet to win a Premier League game this season.
It feels like a season-defining run for the Tractor Boys, where a healthy return of eight points or more could stand them in excellent stead as they look to retain their Premier League status.
To do that, O’Neil needs to find a way to stop his side leaking goals, while also retaining their cutting edge and ferocious ability on the counter-attack.