By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-09-03 09:47:17 | Updated at 2026-09-03 11:02:03
1 hour ago
Liverpool are considered clear favourites by the Opta supercomputer when they travel to promoted Ipswich Town on Friday. Look ahead to the game at Portman Road with our Ipswich Town vs Liverpool prediction and preview.
Ipswich vs Liverpool: The Key Stats
- The Opta supercomputer has Liverpool as strong favourites, giving them a win probability of 59.3% to Ipswich’s 19.7%.
- Liverpool are winless in their last six Premier League games (D4 L2). Only once before have they gone 7+ matches without winning in the competition.
- Ipswich are unbeaten in their last 18 home games, with 17 of those in the Championship.
Liverpool are out to avoid going seven Premier League games without a victory for only the second time when they visit Ipswich Town on Friday.
The Reds have started life under Andoni Iraola with a pair of 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, and are still awaiting a first competitive win of the Spaniard’s tenure.
Dating back to last season under Arne Slot, Liverpool are on a six-match winless run in the Premier League, drawing four and losing two.
The only other time they have gone as many as seven without a victory in the competition was a run of 11 dating from November 2002 to January 2003 under the leadership of Gérard Houllier.
Liverpool have shipped two goals in each of their opening fixtures in 2026-27. Only once have they conceded two-plus goals in their first three matches in the Premier League, doing so in Brendan Rodgers’ first three games in charge during the 2012-13 campaign.
One good omen for the Reds is the fact they are unbeaten in their last 20 Premier League matches against newly promoted teams, with a record of 15 victories and five draws.
However, the last such promoted side to defeat Liverpool was a Bournemouth outfit coached by now Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil back in March 2023.
Liverpool striker Alexander Isak has four goals in two Premier League appearances against Ipswich, with all four of those coming for Newcastle in the 2024-25 season. Three of those were a hat-trick at Portman Road, making him the joint-second top scorer there that season, behind only Liam Delap (6).
Florian Wirtz continues to struggle in a Liverpool shirt and the Germany international has created just two chances in the Reds’ opening two top-flight games. However, he has made 11 passes that have broken the defensive line, with only Manchester United ace Bruno Fernandes – who scored a hat-trick against Ipswich last Sunday – making more (13).
Ipswich made a bright start to life under O’Neil – who replaced Kieran McKenna in the off-season – as the Tractor Boys defeated Sunderland 2-1 in their Premier League opener, then recorded a 3-1 triumph over League One Leicester City in the EFL Cup.
Last time out, they were humbled 5-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford, though, and this promises to be another tough test of their credentials.
Ipswich are unbeaten in 18 consecutive home league games, with 17 of those in the Championship before the Sunderland victory this term. They have not won back-to-back Premier League home games since a run of four in December 2001 to January 2002.
They have kept just one clean sheet in their past 36 Premier League games, and none in their previous 21, since a 2-0 win over Chelsea in December 2024.
Moreover, O’Neil has just two clean sheets in his last 35 Premier League games as a manager, and both against teams who finished 20th that season (Sheffield United in February 2024, and Southampton in November 2024).
Across their opening two Premier League games, Abdul Fatawu has created more chances (5), played more passes in the box (9), and won more duels (14) than any other Ipswich player. Only Julio Enciso (178) has applied more pressures than the Ghanaian (120).
Liverpool may be able to welcome Joe Gomez (muscle) and Federico Chiesa (back) back to the fold for this one.
Ipswich’s summer signing Emersonn (knee) was injured against Man United and is touch-and-go. Florentino Luis (calf), Azor Matusiwa (thigh), Jaden Philogene (ankle), and Jack Taylor (knee) all sat out that game, but the former two may be in consideration for Liverpool.
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Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Head-to-Head
Ipswich have lost their last four Premier League games against Liverpool across the 2001-02 and 2024-25 seasons.
In that time, they’ve shipped 17 goals in matches against the Reds.
Liverpool are unbeaten in all six away Premier League matches against Ipswich Town at Portman Road, winning four and drawing the other two.
That represents the most games they have played at one stadium without losing in the competition.
Ipswich vs Liverpool Prediction
Liverpool may be on a difficult run in the Premier League, but the Opta supercomputer still fancies their chances of emerging victorious at Portman Road.
Indeed, their likelihood of taking all three points on their travels stands at 59.3%, compared to just 19.7% for Ipswich. The draw is considered a 21.0% shot.
Ipswich vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups
Ipswich: Kjell Scherpen, Dara O’Shea, Issa Diop, Jacob Greaves, Leif Davis, Saša Lukić, Marcelino Núñez, Abdul Fatawu, Julio Enciso, Daizen Maeda, Chuba Akpom
Head coach: Gary O’Neil
Liverpool: Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong, Jérémy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Victor Muñoz, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak
Head coach: Andoni Iraola
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system that assigns an ability score to over 16,000 domestic football teams on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world, and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of kick-off this Friday, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
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