Ipswich Town host Brighton & Hove Albion at Portman Road on Thursday

Ipswich Town are 18th in the Premier League table, and they are one of the favourites to go down this season, although they will hope to start turning the tide vs Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday evening.

The Tractor Boys need to start picking up points if they want to preserve their status as a top-flight club next season. They are coming into this game on the back of a win and a draw in their last two outings. Ipswich Town picked up an impressive win over Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup as well.

The home side will certainly have some confidence coming into this contest, and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a positive result in front of their fans. Meanwhile, Brighton & Hove Albion are 11th in the league table. The Seagulls are winless in their last six league matches, and they will be desperate to bounce back strongly.

Fabian Hurzeler’s men have drawn five of the last six Premier League matches. Although Brighton have been difficult to beat, they need to start picking up wins. The away side will not want to continue dropping points, and they will certainly fancy their chances against a side fighting for survival. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the upcoming meeting.0:00

Ipswich Town will be without Omari Hutchinson due to a groin injury. Samuel Szomodics has an ankle injury, Chiedozie Ogbene misses out with a calf injury, Axel Tuanzebe is unavailable due to a hand injury, and Conor Chaplin has a knee issue.

The home side will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Arijanet Muric in goal. Ben Johnson and Leif Davis will start as the full-backs here, and they will look to keep things tight defensively and hit Brighton on the break. Luke Woolfenden and Dara O’Shea will pair up at the heart of the defence.

As for the midfield unit, Samy Morsy and Jens Cajuste will start in the double pivot, and they will look to win the ball back for their side and break up opposition attacks. Nathan Broadhead and Jack Clarke will add pace and flair from the flanks.

Wes Burns will start in the attacking midfield role, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates, with Liam Delap leading the line for Ipswich Town vs Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Muric; Johnson, Woolfenden, O’Shea, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Broadhead, Burns, Clarke; Delap

Brighton & Hove Albion will be without James Milner due to a thigh injury, Igor Julio due to a thigh injury, Mats Wieffer due to a thigh injury, Diego Gomez due to fatigue, and Even Ferguson due to an ankle injury. Jack Hinshelwood and Ferdi Kadioglu will miss out through knee and ankle injuries, respectively.

Brighton will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Ipswich Town, with Bart Verbruggen in goal. Tariq Lamptey and Pervis Estupinan will start as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Jan Paul van Hecke will form the central defensive pairing alongside Lewis Dunk.

As for the midfield unit, Yasin Ayari and Carlos Baleba will look to protect the defensive unit and break down the opposition’s attacking moves. Julio Enciso will start as the attacking midfielder, and he will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.

Simon Adingra and Kaoru Mitoma will start in the wide areas, with Joao Pedro leading the line for Brighton & Hove Albion vs Ipswich Town at Portman Road on Thursday evening.

Brighton & Hove Albion have drawn their last four matches in the Premier League.
Ipswich Town have drawn their last three matches vs Brighton & Hove Albion in all competitions.
13 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two sides.
Brighton are unbeaten in five of their last six meetings against Ipswich.
Ipswich are winless in four of their last six Premier League matches.

Player to Watch

Carlos Baleba

The talented young defensive midfielder is our key player to watch out for. Baleba has been outstanding in the middle of the park for Brighton, and he will help shield the back four and break down the opposition’s attacking moves. The Seagulls will need him to disrupt the Ipswich attack and keep them organised at the back. His presence will allow the attacking players to operate with more freedom as well.

Prediction

Ipswich Town 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

Both teams will be desperate for all three points here, and this is likely to be a close contest. Brighton have been very difficult to beat in recent weeks, and they will look to make life difficult for the home team here as well. The Seagulls have been solid at the back, and they are likely to get something out of this contest.

It will be hard to separate the two teams here, and they are likely to cancel each other out. Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion are likely to share the spoils in a draw. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 stalemate for Thursday’s game.