Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Prediction, Predicted Lineups & Team News
Ipswich Town host Liverpool at Portman Road on Friday night with the visitors still searching for their first Premier League win of the season. Liverpool have taken two points from two matches, but both required late rescue acts: a 99th-minute penalty at Newcastle and an 82nd-minute equalizer against Nottingham Forest.
That is why our Ipswich Town vs Liverpool prediction leans toward a draw despite Liverpool entering as heavy favorites. Andoni Iraola's side have struggled to control games for long stretches, while Ipswich have scored in both league matches and already shown they can make bigger sides uncomfortable.
Victor Munoz has been Liverpool's new difference-maker, producing the decisive moment in both games, and he is projected to start again Friday. Bradley Barcola is also available after completing his blockbuster move from Paris Saint-Germain on Monday, giving Iraola another option as Liverpool try to turn late recoveries into a complete performance.
This preview covers predicted lineups, injury news, head-to-head history, the tactical matchup and a score prediction for Friday's Premier League game in Suffolk.
When & Where to Watch (USA)
Friday, Sept. 4 at 8:00 PM BST / 3:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM PT
Venue: Portman Road, Ipswich
- English TV: USA Network
- Streaming: Peacock, Fubo, Sling Blue, DirecTV Stream
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Lineups & Injury News
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Predicted Lineups
Predicted lineups: Ipswich are projected to name the same XI that started at Old Trafford, with Emersonn cleared to play after his knee scare. Liverpool have two changes from the Forest game: Dominik Szoboszlai is projected at right back in place of Jeremie Frimpong, who is not injured, and Alexis Mac Allister comes into the pivot alongside Ryan Gravenberch. Bradley Barcola is available but not in the side five days after signing.
Ipswich TownIPS
LiverpoolLIVIpswich TownPredictedLiverpoolPredictedIpswich Town predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1):Kjell Scherpen; Dara O'Shea, Issa Diop, Jacob Greaves, Leif Davis; Sasa Lukic, Marcelino Nunez; Abdul Fatawu, Julio Enciso, Daizen Maeda; Emersonn
Liverpool predicted starting XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Dominik Szoboszlai, Jeremy Jacquet, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister; Victor Munoz, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo; Alexander Isak
Check the Premier League injury table and the player news feed before kickoff because there are still some questions.
Ipswich Town Team News & Injuries
Emersonn is cleared. Ipswich's club-record striker jarred his knee in the first half at Old Trafford and came off, but Gary O'Neil confirmed Friday that he is fine and available, and he keeps his place in the projection. That matters more than a single name, because he is the only Ipswich player to have scored from open play this season.
The more interesting question is who joins him. Zian Flemming completed his move from Burnley earlier this week and is available to debut, with O'Neil weighing a two-striker setup rather than the 4-2-3-1 projected here. Chuba Akpom, who scored off the bench at Old Trafford, is the third option.
Jaden Philogene is closing in on a return but remains a doubt with the ankle problem, which matters beyond his absence because he is second on Ipswich's penalty list. Azor Matusiwa is still unavailable after end-of-season muscle surgery with no firm date. Florentino Luis is the change here: the 16 million pound arrival from Burnley trained all week and is available to make his debut, though whether O'Neil starts him or eases him in off the bench is open.
Liverpool Team News & Injuries
The injury list is long but moving. Conor Bradley will not be back any time soon, with Northern Ireland's Michael O'Neill saying a return before the end of 2026 would be "a real bonus" and RotoWire now carrying him into March. Giovanni Leoni and Federico Chiesa are both due to start training with the group later this month, and Joe Gomez is closest of all, back in team training next week. Hugo Ekitike is out until 2027 with a ruptured Achilles. Curtis Jones has gone to Inter Milan.
With Frimpong out of the projection and Bradley and Leoni unavailable, right back falls to Szoboszlai, which pulls Liverpool's most reliable dead-ball taker out of midfield and into the back four.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Head-to-Head Record
These clubs have met 74 times, with Liverpool winning 39 to Ipswich's 14 and 21 drawn. The relevant run is longer than most: Ipswich have not beaten Liverpool since Dec. 10, 2000, a nine-game winless stretch spanning nearly 26 years.
Portman Road is worse. Liverpool are unbeaten in their last seven visits and have not lost a league game here since the 1985-86 season. The two meetings in Ipswich's last top-flight campaign both went Liverpool's way, 2-0 here in August 2024 in Ipswich's first top-flight match in 22 years, and 4-1 at Anfield in January 2025.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Tactical Analysis
Liverpool are 13th with two points, and the way they got them is the reason this game is live. They trailed at Newcastle and needed a stoppage-time penalty, then trailed twice at home to Forest and equalized in the 82nd minute. The first-half numbers against Forest were alarming for a side at Anfield: 0.25 expected goals to 1.29, and no big chances to three.
Iraola has not tried to dress it up. "We were quite passive without the ball," he said afterwards, and pointed out that both Forest goals came from throw-ins that Liverpool "didn't defend properly." His closing line was blunter still: "I hope this serves as a lesson for the future." He also has the strangest possible context for the job, because his Bournemouth side finished sixth last season, three points behind the Liverpool team whose manager he replaced. Liverpool finished fifth, sacked Arne Slot a year after winning the title, and lost Mohamed Salah, Ibrahima Konate and Andrew Robertson on free transfers.
Ipswich are 12th, a point above them, and their two games have been opposites. They beat Sunderland with seven new signings in the starting XI, then conceded five at Old Trafford after leading through Leif Davis. O'Neil's own diagnosis was about duration rather than quality: "we lost control of the momentum. How we respond for the last half-hour is what we need to get better at." That is the question Friday asks, because a promoted side leading Liverpool at home on a Friday night has to survive the last half-hour to get anything out of it.
What Ipswich do have is a spine built from O'Neil's last job. He arrived from Strasbourg in June and Ipswich then signed two players from there, Julio Enciso for around 30 million pounds and Abdoul Ouattara for 17 million. Enciso has been their best player, setting up the move for the winner against Sunderland and looking lively at Old Trafford, and O'Neil has been unusually warm about him: "it's rare to find a player like him. He's desperate to help the team."
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Odds
Liverpool are heavy road favorites between -182 and -210 and Ipswich are out past +400 at three of the five books. The spread on the home side is enormous, +375 at BetMGM against +460 at FanDuel, so nobody backing Ipswich should take the first number they see.
| Sportsbook | Ipswich Town | Draw | Liverpool |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetMGM | +375 | +320 | -210 |
| DraftKings | +425 | +370 | -185 |
| FanDuel | +460 | +370 | -190 |
| bet365 | +400 | +350 | -182 |
| Kalshi | +454 | +372 | -200 |
Odds from OddsJam. For more markets and the rest of the matchweek, see RotoWire's soccer betting page and the best sportsbook promos.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Key Matchups
Alexander Isak vs Issa Diop and Jacob Greaves
Isak scored his first of the season against Forest and is the one Liverpool player whose finishing can settle a game like this without the rest of the performance being any good. Diop and Greaves kept Sunderland to a single goal and then had an afternoon at Old Trafford neither will want back, with Greaves putting through his own net off a Harry Maguire shot. The pairing defends the box reasonably well and struggles when it has to defend space, which is precisely what Isak wants. If Ipswich sit deep and compact he will have a quiet hour. If they push out to chase the game, he decides it.
Julio Enciso vs Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai
Enciso is the most likely source of anything Ipswich create, and Liverpool's double pivot is where Iraola says his team went passive. Gravenberch is one of the better ball-carrying midfielders in the league but Liverpool conceded both Forest goals from throw-ins, which is the sort of second-phase sloppiness a No. 10 with Enciso's close control punishes. Ipswich also have Marcelino Nunez and Sasa Lukic behind him rather than in front, so Enciso gets to play facing forward. Whoever wins that zone decides whether this is a Liverpool possession exercise or a genuinely awkward Friday night.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Set-Piece Takers
Set-piece responsibility for both clubs comes from RotoWire's Premier League set-piece takers guide, which covers all 20 teams for 2026-27.
Ipswich Town
- Corners & free kicks: Leif Davis, Sasa Lukic, Abdul Fatawu, Marcelino Nunez, Jack Clarke
- Penalties: Julio Enciso, Jack Clarke, Jaden Philogene
Liverpool
- Corners & free kicks: Dominik Szoboszlai, Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz, Alexis Mac Allister
- Penalties: Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak
Enciso could be Ipswich's main PK taker, though that information has yet to be revealed. Szoboszlai has already converted one for Liverpool this season, in the 99th minute at St James' Park.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool Prediction
Liverpool are the better side, but they have not controlled either league match yet and Ipswich have scored in both of theirs. Portman Road on a Friday night is exactly the kind of game that can punish a side still searching for rhythm. Ipswich have Emersonn cleared and Flemming available to partner him, so for once the striker question is an embarrassment of options rather than a hole.
Score Prediction: Ipswich Town 2-2 Liverpool
Upcoming Fixtures
Ipswich travel to Crystal Palace on Sept. 12. Liverpool go to Bournemouth on Sept. 20, which is Iraola's first return to the club he left in June.
For the rest of the matchweek, see RotoWire's Premier League predicted and confirmed lineups, the injury table, team stats and the EPL draft kit.
