round-ups » Everton vs Ipswich Town: Preview and Prediction

 

Everton vs Ipswich Town: Preview and Prediction

May 2, 2025 6:51 pm Reading Time: 8 mins read

Everton and Ipswich Town will be eager to return to winning ways when they face off in the penultimate Premier League game at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The 2024/25 Premier League season continues on Saturday with four matches. The action on Saturday kicks off with the game between Aston Villa and Fulham at Villa Park before continuing with two simultaneous fixtures, including Everton vs Ipswich Town at Goodison Park, the penultimate Premier League tie at the stadium.

 

David Moyes might have run out of steam after the initial honeymoon period following his return to Goodison Park. However, the Scottish tactician has done more than enough to ensure safety for Everton as they get ready to move to Bramley Moore-Dock this summer. So, while the Toffees have won only one of their last nine Premier League games, the primary objective now should be to significantly reinforce the first-team squad in the summer transfer window.

 

 

On the other hand, Ipswich Town will return to the EFL Championship after only one season in the Premier League. The Tractor Boys were the most valiant promoted team this season. However, they could not close down the gulf to the remaining 17 sides and will likely fail to breach even the 30-point mark. Nevertheless, Kieran McKenna’s men can go down with their heads held high.

The reverse fixture saw Everton ease to a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town, with Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

David Moyes has greeted positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Everton manager might be bereft of the services of only three first-team players vs Ipswich Town on Saturday.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring) and Armando Broja (ankle) have resumed full training, with the duo closing in on returning to action. However, Saturday’s match might have come too soon for the two strikers. Meanwhile, James Tarkowski (hamstring), Orel Mangala (knee), and Jesper Lindstrom (hernia) remain on the sidelines.

James Pickford will take his spot between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him vs Ipswich Town on Saturday. The backline should feature Ashley Young, Jake O’Brien, Jarrad Branthwaite, and Vitaliy Mykolenko

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Idrissa Gueye, James Garner, and Abdoulaye Doucoure. Finally, Beto will lead the line for Everton against Ipswich Town, with Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison being the two wide attackers.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Pickford; Young, O’Brien, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner, Doucoure; Harrison, Beto, Ndiaye

Ipswich Town

Unlike his counterpart in the Everton dugout, Kieran McKenna has greeted a mixed bag of updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to Goodison Park. The Ipswich Town manager will be without eight first-team players on Saturday.

 

Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) and Kalvin Phillips (foot) should be available, while Nathan Broadhead (thigh) is closing in on returning. However, Arijanet Muric (shoulder), Wes Burns (knee), Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Conor Townsend (hamstring), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles), and Jaden Philogene (knee) remain on the sidelines. In addition, Ben Johnson and Leif Davis will serve suspensions this weekend.

 

 

Alex Palmer is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Everton lining up in a 5-4-1 formation in front of him vs Everton on Saturday. The backline should feature Dara O’Shea, Luke Woolfenden, Cameron Burgess, Jacob Greaves, and Ben Godfrey.

 

As for the midfield unit, Samy Morsy and Jens Cajuste will look to shore up things in the middle of the park. Finally, Omari Hutchinson and Jack Clarke will be the two wide attackers, with Liam Delap spearheading the Ipswich Town attack against Everton.

 

Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Palmer; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves, Godfrey; Hutchinson, Morsy, Cajuste, Clarke; Dela

Key Stats

Everton won the reverse fixture against Ipswich Town 2-0. However, they have previously achieved the Premier League double over the Tractor Boys only in 1994/95. Ipswich Town have won their last two away league games vs Everton, beating them 3-0 in September 2000 and 2-1 in February 2002.

Everton have won only one of their last nine Premier League games (D5 L3), having secured four victories in five outings before this run (D1). The Toffees have lost their two most recent clashes, previously losing three successive top-flight matches under David Moyes in October 2011.

The last two Premier League matches for Ipswich Town ended in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal and a 3-0 loss to Newcastle United. They most recently conceded 3+ goals in three consecutive games in March 1995 – 0-9 vs Manchester United, 0-3 vs Tottenham Hotspur, and 0-3 vs Norwich City.

Only Leicester City (16) have failed to score in more Premier League games than Everton (15) this season. The Toffees last drew a blank in more matches in 1998/99 (17).

Everton have conceded a higher share of their Premier League goals in the second half of games than any other side this season (66% – 27/41). However, Ipswich Town have scored fewer second-half strikes both overall (12) and as a percentage (36%) than any other side this term.

Player to Watch

Liam Delap

Embed from Getty Images

 

 

While Beto, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Omari Hutchinson were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Liam Delap as our Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Everton and Ipswich Town at Goodison Park.

 

The English striker has been a standout performer for the Tractor Boys, scoring 12 goals thus far. However, while Ipswich Town will return to the EFL Championship after the 2024/25 season ends, Delap will likely remain in the Premier League. With English giants like Manchester United keen on signing him, the 22-year-old will be eager to bow out of this season on a high and seal the deal for a summer move.

 

Prediction

Everton 2-1 Ipswich Town

Goalscoring has been an issue for Everton and Ipswich Town, with both teams depending on a few players to bail them out in the final third. Only the bottom two clubs — Leicester City and Southampton — have found the back of the net less often than these sides. However, we might see an intense match that could keep the scorers busy.

 

With Liam Delap a man on a mission, it will not be surprising to see Ipswich Town taking the lead. However, the Tractor Boys will become the team with the most dropped points from a winning position this season, with Everton likely to script a comeback. Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure will deliver the goods, with The Hard Tackle predicting a 2-1 win for David Moyes and his charges.