Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Preview: AFC Wimbledon vs. Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 4 January 2024, 11:14
Plough Lane will play host to an intriguing FA Cup third-round contest on Saturday afternoon, with League Two outfit AFC Wimbledon welcoming Championship side Ipswich Town.

AFC Wimbledon have had to win twice to reach this stage of the competition, putting five goals past both Cheltenham Town and Ramsgate, but this is Ipswich's first FA Cup contest since losing 2-1 to Burnley in the fourth round of last season's tournament.

Match preview

AFC Wimbledon have been impressive in the FA Cup this season, securing their spot in the second round of the competition courtesy of a 5-1 victory over Cheltenham, before thumping Ramsgate 5-0 to ensure that they would be present in the third round of the tournament.

Johnnie Jackson's side will be up against it in this match, but they have had an impressive season to date, picking up 39 points from their 25 League Two matches to occupy seventh position in the table.

The Dons only narrowly avoided relegation to the National League last season, finishing down in 21st position in League Two, but they are looking up the table rather than down due to their strong form this term.

Jackson's team will enter this match off the back of a 1-1 draw with Forest Green Rovers on New Year's Day, but they beat Colchester Untied 5-3 in their last game in front of their own fans on December 29.

AFC Wimbledon have locked horns with Ipswich on six previous occasions and have only managed to win once, which was a 3-0 victory in a home League One clash in April 2021.

Ipswich, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a goalless draw with Stoke City in the Championship, which made it five matches without a victory for the Blues.

Kieran McKenna's side have been excellent in the Championship this season following their promotion from League One, boasting a record of 16 wins, seven draws and three defeats from 26 matches, which has left them in second position in the table on 55 points.

Ipswich are only three points clear of third-placed Southampton, though, and also now sit 10 points behind the leaders Leicester City, who are threatening to run away with the division.

The FA Cup is far behind the Championship when it comes to the team's list of priorities this season, and the league clash with Sunderland on January 13 will be viewed by the club as a far bigger contest than this one.

The Blues have previous when it comes to winning this competition, though, lifting the trophy in 1977-78 courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the final at Wembley.

AFC Wimbledon FA Cup form:

W

W

AFC Wimbledon form (all competitions):

D

W

W

L

W

D

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

W

D

L

D

D

D

Advert - content below:

Team News

AFC Wimbledon head coach Jackson could name the same XI that took to the field for the five-goal success over Ramsgate in the last round of the competition.

Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice in that contest, and the 21-year-old is enjoying an impressive campaign, finding the back of the net on 17 occasions in all competitions.

Omar Bugiel, who has netted five times in all competitions this season, is likely to join Al Hamadi in attack, while there should also be a spot in midfield for Jake Reeves.

As for Ipswich, McKenna has a strong squad available to him at this moment in time, and no fresh injuries were reported following the goalless draw with Stoke last time out.

There will be a number of changes to the side that started against Stoke, though, with Christian Walton set for a role between the sticks, while on-loan Manchester United defender Brandon Williams should also come in.

McKenna is also set to make alterations to his midfield and attack, with Sone Aluko, Freddie Ladapo and Omari Hutchinson likely to be introduced into the XI for this match.

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:

Bass; Biler, Lewis, Johnson, Currie; Neufville, Reeves, Little, Lemonheigh-Evans; Al Hamadi, Bugiel

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Tuanzebe, Ball, Edmundson, B Williams; Hutchinson, Luongo, Taylor; Aluko, Ladapo, Burns

We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Ipswich Town

This has the potential to be a very tricky match for Ipswich, especially as the Championship outfit are unlikely to have a full-strength side on the field. The Blues are struggling to win games at the moment, but we are backing them to navigate their way past AFC Wimbledon to advance to the fourth round.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them rise above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Galatasaray will travel to face Caykur Rizespor at the Caykur Didi Stadium, aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. 15 February 2025 talksport.com It takes a lot to shock Troy Deeney but Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert nearly rendered him speechless.
there is nothing here yet