Ipswich vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-06 14:00.
After a 3-0 midweek win against Hull, and a dressing room visit from superfan Ed Sheeran in which the players and singer jointly gave a rendition of his song “Perfect”, Ipswich’s start to the season hasn’t been far off that song title (W8, D1, L1). Kieran McKenna’s side continue to defy the odds after their promotion from League One, and he hailed that Hull victory, which opened up a five-point gap to third after the midweek round, as a “special performance”.
It’s that third-place side ahead of the round who visit here in the form of Preston, giving Ipswich the perfect chance to open up yet more ground to the chasing pack as they bid for back-to-back promotions. No side has been promoted from League One and then the Championship in successive seasons since Southampton over a decade ago, but with a six-match unbeaten home league H2H record against North End (W3, D3), Ipswich could take another step on that road here.
While Ipswich are on a high, Preston are most certainly on a low, travelling down to East Anglia on the back of successive heavy defeats to West Brom (4-0) and Leicester (3-0). Boss Ryan Lowe felt the scoreline in their midweek defeat against the Foxes was “harsh”, and thought his side were “fantastic without getting a result” – a rather strange assessment after their third winless league game in a row (D1, L2).
Two of those winless outings coming on the road won’t be a great surprise to Preston, who are notoriously hit and miss away from home in the Championship, with just two wins from their last eight such games (D2, L4). The only two clean sheets in that run also yielded victories, but with no shut-outs to their name at Portman Road since 2005, another seems unlikely against an Ipswich side who have scored 61 goals across their last 21 home league games.
Players to watch: Wes Burns opened his account for the season against Hull in midweek, the third of his last five goals to open the scoring. Formerly of Ipswich, Preston’s Will Keane will be out to down his former employers and his three away goals this term all came after the break.
Hot stat: Ipswich’s last five home games in all competitions have averaged 5.4 goals per game!