Five things to look out for - Ipswich Town vs Manchester City

Manchester City are back in Premier League action as they travel to Suffolk to face Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

City have seen something of a revival recently with a run of five unbeaten matches but will be disappointed to have conceded two late goals to see a win turn into a draw against Brentford.

They now face a fight to get into the top four, but will be boosted by the impending signings of Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush and the unexpected news that Erling Haaland has extended his contract until 2034, nine and a half years in the future.

Their opponents, meanwhile, are battling it out at the bottom of the table, and will look to former City player Liam Delap to be the man to keep them up and cause City problems.

Here are five things to look out for as City take on Ipswich:

City’s brilliant centre forward will be boosted by his bumper new contract and will look to be getting himself on the scoresheet against the Tractor Boys.

Haaland is in fact having an extremely underrated season, with 16 goals in 20 Premier League games, putting him second in the scoring charts behind just Mohamed Salah.

The 24 year old scored a hattrick against Kieran McKenna’s side in the reverse fixture – a 4-1 home win for the Blues – but has yet to appear at Portman Road, and will be hungry to add to his goal tally and chase Salah down in the race for the Golden Boot.

With Savinho, Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne all hitting form behind him, it’d be surprising if Haaland doesn’t score and help City get back into winning ways.

Leicester City FC v Manchester City FC - Premier League

The best moment of magic we got from the Brentford game was De Bruyne’s ferocious cross from the right hand side and Foden’s deft finish to give City the lead.

The two have struggled for fitness and form this season after being such important players over the last few years for City, but the flashback to previous years we witnessed against the Bees bodes well for upcoming games.

Supported by Haaland, Savinho and soon to be Omar Marmoush in attack (along with Oscar Bobb, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku too) the goals will start flowing the Blues again, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see their two key attacking midfielders at the heart of everything they do.

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The good vibes around the club continue with Bobb and Dias’s return to training.

The 21 year old winger shone in pre-season and has now been training for more than a week so may well be ready to return to the bench.

Dias, meanwhile, is needed to make his return and take the burden of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake at centre back and to gain some momentum of his own.

When fit he’s arguably City’s best defender, and will be needed to nurture new centre back signings Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov and help them to improve their games and fulfill their potential.

It’d be good for them to get minutes in the tank ahead of PSG on Wednesday, as Dias in particular will improve the team significantly with his presence.

Delap up against the central defenders

Fulham FC v Ipswich Town FC - Premier League — Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Former City striker Liam Delap is enjoying life at Ipswich, and like with Cole Palmer last season many supporters are wishing he’d been kept around this season.

He’s a strong, aggressive forward and will look to unsettle the central defenders, taking advantage of any existing mental or physical fatigue.

Ake and Dias as a partnership would be best equipped for dealing with him, but it’s unlikely that Dias will be fit enough to start.

Perhaps starting with Akanji and Ake and bringing Dias on is the way to go for the Blues, who will know that stopping Delap will go a long way to limiting Ipswich’s goal threat.

A first appearance for any of the new signings?

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At time of writing, none of the players have yet been announced, so it is exceptionally unlikely that we’ll see any of them make their debuts at Portman Road.

However, Khusanov and Reis are said to have completed their medicals and if an announcement comes at any point on Saturday evening or Sunday morning there’s a chance they’ll be in the squad for Sunday.

Marmoush is yet to complete his medical so won’t be officially signed in time, but all three should be aiming for the Paris Saint Germain game in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night as the opportunity to make their debuts.