Ipswich Town will host Aston Villa at Portman Road on Sunday, looking to pick up a single victory of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Ipswich Town will be desperate to pick up all three points when they welcome Aston Villa to Portman Road on Sunday afternoon, and it remains to be seen whether they can grind out a positive result in front of their fans.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have started the season well, and they are third in the league table with four wins from five league games heading into Gameweek 6. The West Midlands outfit will look to build on their impressive start of the season and put together a winning run now.
Unai Emery’s will be the favourites heading into this game, and they will look to pick up all three points. Aston Villa will be hoping to secure UEFA Champions League qualification this season as well. They cannot afford to drop points in these games if they want to finish in the top four.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town will look to beat the drop and stay in the Premier League. It will be interesting to see if they can start picking up points. They have drawn their last three games, and the home team have made themselves difficult to beat. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the upcoming meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Ipswich Town
Janoi Donacien is the only injury worry for the home team due to a groin issue. Ipswich Town will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Aston Villa, with Arijanet Muric in goal. Ben Johnson and Leif Davis will start as the full-backs here, and they will look to keep things compact at the back and protect the central defenders. Luke Woolfenden and Jacob Greaves will start at the heart of the defence.
Samy Morsy and Jack Taylor will start in the midfield double pivot, and they will look to protect the back four and break up opposition attacks. Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson will look to add goals and creativity to the side from the wide areas. Conor Chaplin will start in the central attacking midfield role, behind Liam Delap, who will lead the line for Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Muric; Johnson, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Taylor; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchison; Delap
Aston Villa
The visitors will be without Boubacar Kamara because of his long-term knee injury. Tyrone Mings is set to miss out with a similar problem, and John McGinn has picked up a thigh injury. Otherwise, Unai Emery has a full-strength squad at his disposal ahead of the trip to Portman Road.
Aston Villa will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation against Ipswich Town, with Emiliano Martinez in goal. Matty Cash and Lucas Digne will start as the full-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Ezri Konsa will start alongside Pau Torres at the heart of the Aston Villa defence.
As for the midfield unit, Amadou Onana will look to break up opposition attacks and win the ball back for his side. Youri Tielemans will look to control the tempo of the game. Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey will start in the wide areas, and they will aim to add creativity and pace to the side. Morgan Rogers will start as the central attacking midfielder behind central striker, Ollie Watkins.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Ramsey, Rogers, Bailey; Watkins
Key Stats
- Ipswich Town have won just one of their 10 Premier League games against Aston Villa (D2 L7). The Villans are unbeaten in 10 league games at Portman Road since a 3-0 defeat in September 1984 (W5 D5).
- Ipswich Town have won just one of their last 18 Premier League games, a 1-0 home victory against Middlesbrough in April 2002.
- Aston Villa have won their last three Premier League matches, their best run since five successive victories between March and April 2023.
- 12 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two sides.
- Jhon Duran has netted eight of his nine Premier League goals as a substitute, including coming off the bench to score in four of Villa’s five Premier League games this season.
Player to Watch
Ollie Watkins
Ipswich Town have not been at their best this season, and they will struggle to contain one of the best strikers in the country. Ollie Watkins is our key player to watch out for, and he will look to dismantle the home defence with his movement, link-up play and finishing ability.
The England international has been in impressive form ever since he moved to the West Midlands club, and he will look to increase his goal tally for the season. Watkins has scored three goals in Villa’s last two Premier League matches, as many goals as he netted in his previous 13 top-flight appearances. Expect him to continue that run.
Prediction
Ipswich Town 1-2 Aston Villa
The home side have made themselves difficult to beat in recent weeks. Ipswich Town will look to make life tough for the visitors, but Aston Villa should have enough quality to grind out all three points. This is likely to be a close contest, but an away win is on the cards. A narrow victory for Aston Villa seems likely.
