Ipswichvs.Man City

The reigning champions let a 2-0 lead slip in a frenetic 2-2 draw with Brentford in midweek, but the Tractor Boys could not emulate the Bees' comeback in their home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Match preview

With three straight wins under their belt before visiting a Brentford side who had just been knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Plymouth Argyle, a resurgent Man City could have been forgiven for arriving at the Gtech Community Stadium with unbridled optimism.

The travelling faithful would seemingly enjoy a stress-free final 10 minutes after a second-half brace from Phil Foden, but Yoane Wissa quickly cut the deficit in half, before Bees captain Christian Norgaard rose highest to head home an incredible leveller for Thomas Frank's men.

It was not quite a Feyenoord-esque collapse from Pep Guardiola's side, but a chastening one nonetheless, as they missed the chance to move level on points with faltering Chelsea in the Premier League table and are three points off Newcastle United in the final Champions League position.

However, a five-game unbeaten run still represents an improvement on their atrocious autumnal period, and Citizens supporters should have been bouncing into work on Friday morning, when the club announced an extraordinary new nine-and-a-half-year contract for history-making Haaland.

After committing to the reigning champions until just before his 34th birthday, Haaland now hopes to replicate his hat-trick from City's 4-1 battering of Ipswich earlier in the campaign, which would make him just the second Premier League player to score trebles home and away against one team in a single season after Emmanuel Adebayor.

Sticking with the theme of City attackers past and present, erstwhile sky blue striker Liam Delap has intentions of spoiling the Haaland contract party on Sunday, but the 21-year-old was powerless to prevent Kieran McKenna's men from being slain by the Seagulls.

As was the case in City's draw with Brentford, Brighton also took until the second half to make their attacking forays count through Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter, but Ipswich could not pull off a Bees-esque turnaround in the short time that remained.

Thursday's setback was a harsh reality check for McKenna's side, who had previously strung together a three-game unbeaten run in all competitions - including a memorable home success over Chelsea - but defeat in midweek leaves them in the relegation zone on goals scored.

Unsurprisingly, the Tractor Boys seldom have things go their way when facing the reigning champions of England either, as they have lost five and drawn one of their last six Premier League games against the holders since stunning Manchester United 3-2 in the 1994-95 season.

That same campaign coincidentally represents the last time that Man City did the double over Ipswich, who have come up trumps in each of their last four home games against the Citizens, but the most recent showdown in that sequence came all the way back in 2001.

Ipswich Town Premier League form:

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Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

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Manchester City Premier League form:

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Manchester City form (all competitions):

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Team News

To the surprise of few, wantaway Citizens right-back Kyle Walker was not involved in the Brentford draw after communicating his desire to leave; he is seemingly no closer to securing a move abroad but is unlikely to make an appearance at Portman Road.

The same goes for injured trio Rodri (ACL), Oscar Bobb (leg) and Ruben Dias (calf), while John Stones (foot) is on the verge of a comeback, but Guardiola is expected to err on the side of caution with the centre-back given his recent history of issues.

As was the case in the FA Cup pummelling of Salford City, Guardiola intriguingly sided with Matheus Nunes at right-back in place of Walker, but rotation might be necessary before the Citizens meet Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League next Wednesday.

The expected arrivals of Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov will ease the burden on City's regular starters soon, but neither is expected to seal their move in time for the weekend.

From City future to City present - technically - Kalvin Phillips cannot play against his parent club this weekend, so McKenna should introduce Sam Morsy back into midfield alongside Jens Cajuste.

Phillips joins Conor Chaplin (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Axel Tuanzebe (thigh) and Sammie Szmodics (ankle) on the sidelines, but Omari Hutchinson made an unexpectedly quick return from a groin issue in midweek.

The Tractor Boys have also reinforced their attacking line with the addition of Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa on a permanent deal, and a debut for the 22-year-old on Sunday is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Woolfenden, Godfrey, Greaves; O'Shea, Cajuste, Morsy, Davis; Hutchinson, Delap, Philogene

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ortega; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Gundogan; Foden, De Bruyne, Doku; Haaland

We say: Ipswich Town 0-2 Manchester City

Do not be surprised to see Ipswich switch to a back five for Sunday's game - such an approach very nearly paid dividends against Arsenal in December - and City might also shuffle the pack ahead of a crucial Champions League fixture.

Written by

Ben Knapton

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