Two new dawns begin at lunchtime on Saturday when Ipswich Town return to the Premier League to take Liverpool in their first match of the post-Jurgen Klopp era.
Having dropped into League One since their last campaign in the top flight in 2001/02, the Tractor Boys finished second after returning to the Championship and have retained influential manager Kieran McKenna for the challenges that lie ahead.
The Reds said goodbye to Klopp at the end of 2023/24 and are now orchestrated by Dutchman Arne Slot, who oversaw an unbeaten pre-season campaign during the summer.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Ipswich and Liverpool’s clash on Saturday.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Ipswich Town |
Liverpool |
|---|---|
|
Ipswich Town 1-0 Nice – 10/08/24 |
Liverpool 0-0 Las Palmas – 11/08/24 |
|
Hoffenheim 0-1 Ipswich Town – 03/08/24 |
Liverpool 4-1 Sevilla – 11/08/24 |
|
Ipswich Town 1-2 Fortuna Dusseldorf – 27/07/24 |
Liverpool 3-0 Man Utd – 04/08/24 |
|
Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Ipswich Town – 20/07/24 |
Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal – 01/08/24 |
|
Ipswich Town 2-0 Huddersfield Town – 04/05/24 |
Liverpool 1-0 Real Betis – 27/07/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada |
Ipswich could be without as many as five first-team players for their return to the Premier League. Harry Clarke, George Hirst, Nathan Broadhead and Janoi Donacien are definitely sidelined, while there are doubts over Cameron Humphreys’ fitness.
Left-back Leif Davis will be keen to provide plenty of attacking threat down the flank having contributed 18 assists in the Championship last season, with striker Liam Delap the likely target for his deliveries in the middle.
Ipswich Town predicted lineup vs Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Muric; Johnson, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Taylor; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson; Delap.
Having not made any signings during the summer transfer window, Arne Slot’s first official Liverpool starting XI will feature plenty of familiar faces. Jarell Quansah may get to start the season alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence ahead of Ibrahima Konate, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2024 with France in the summer.
Ryan Gravenberch is set to start in holding midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister following the failed pursuit of Martin Zubimendi, while Diogo Jota could get the nod over Darwin Nunez up front.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota.
There’s no doubt Portman Road will be absolutely rocking for Ipswich’s return to the Premier League and they’ll fancy their chances of making life difficult for a Liverpool side that are an unknown quantity at the start of Slot’s reign as manager.
However, the Reds showed promising early signings during the summer and still have wonderful players like Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mac Allister who can provide key contributions in big moments.
The Merseysiders should get the win in Saturday’s early kick-off but it could be tighter than expected.
Prediction: Ipswich 1-2 Liverpool
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