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Preview: Ipswich Town vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 December 2023, 07:11
The Championship's top two will go toe to toe for 90 minutes on Boxing Day, as Ipswich Town host leaders Leicester City at Portman Road.

While the Tractor Boys were smashed by third-placed Leeds United last time out, Leicester strode further clear at the summit, with a 3-0 home win extending their advantage to five points.

Match preview

After heading to Elland Road with the aim of moving 13 points clear of their closest rivals for a top-two place in the Championship table, Ipswich left chastened by a 4-0 defeat that brutally ended their five-game unbeaten run.

Daniel Farke's side struck three times before the break on a day to forget for ex-Leeds defender Leif Davis, who scored an own goal from Crysencio Summerville's cross and later fouled the same player to concede a penalty.

Town boss Kieran McKenna was handed his heaviest defeat since taking charge at Portman Road and embarking on a superb run of results that propelled his side up from League One into contention for a place in the Premier League.

Ipswich have now lost to Leeds twice this term, following a 4-3 home defeat in August, but they still lead the Yorkshire club by seven points in the race for automatic promotion.

Following a 2-2 draw in their derby duel with Norwich City a week earlier, the Tractor Boys will be looking to get back on track with a win from their next festive fixture, as they meet the only team above them in the table.

Though the East Anglian outfit have lost just two of their last 10 league games on Boxing Day, and won 3-0 against Oxford United last year, this time they will step up in class, meeting the outright favourites to be crowned second-tier champions this season.

The last time Leicester City faced Ipswich in a league game was back in February 2014, with a 3-0 victory on that occasion helping them on their way towards promotion to the Premier League.

The Foxes have enjoyed plenty of highs and lows between then and now, but recent results suggest the side demoted last term should be back in the big time sooner rather than later.

On Saturday, the Championship leaders capitalised on Ipswich losing a few hours earlier by seeing off rock-bottom Rotherham United to go six points clear at Christmas.

Bringing his personal tally to four goals in as many games, Patson Daka was on target twice during a 12-minute spell in the second half that brought three Leicester strikes and essentially ended the game as a contest.

A fifth straight win was already their 19th in the league, and at the halfway stage of the season, Enzo Maresca's men have a 13-point cushion over fellow relegated clubs Leeds and Southampton, who front a distant chasing pack in the playoff places.

As a result, they are primed to meet an Ipswich side that have lost only one Championship home game so far, while seeking their own 10th away win of the season.

Ipswich Town Championship form:

W

W

W

W

D

L

Leicester City Championship form:

D

W

W

W

W

W

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Team News

After events at Elland Road, Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna may make some changes to his starting XI on Tuesday, with Brandon Williams, Omari Hutchinson and Luke Woolfenden among several players pushing for a start.

Axel Tuanzebe came in for the latter on Saturday, but that change could be reversed at Portman Road; McKenna has plenty of other options, too, as only Lee Evans and Janoi Donacien remain unavailable due to injury.

Once again, Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead - both on eight Championship goals this season - will feature in the hosts' final third, with George Hirst set to start up front.

Leicester, meanwhile, will be without veteran striker Jamie Vardy, who remains confined to the treatment table alongside Kasey McAteer and Marc Albrighton; defender Callum Doyle recently returned to full training, though, and is back in contention.

In Vardy's absence, Zambia international Patson Daka - soon to join fellow Fox Kelechi Iheanacho at the 2024 AFCON - has been leading the line up front.

Daka's first league double since moving to England should ensure he keeps his place, with Iheanacho and Tom Cannon consigned to the bench.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson, Chaplin, Broadhead; Hirst

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Ndidi; Fatawu, Dewsbury-Hall, Mavididi; Daka

We say: Ipswich Town 1-2 Leicester City

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