Ipswich Town vs Southampton tips and predictions: Goals likely as hosts prevail at Portman Road

Ipswich Town will stay top of the Championship with a win over challengers Southampton and could even move five points clear of third if results swing their way.

Kieran McKenna’s side have won eight of their last nine since a four-match winless run in all competitions.

As impressive as that is, it would have been better had they not conceded two injury-time goals to lose 2-1 to Cardiff at the start of March.

Southampton fans may wonder how their side is nine points behind second-place Leeds United given their incredible run of form.

The Saints beat Leeds 3-1 at St Mary’s in late September to spark a 22-match unbeaten run that lasted until February 13.

Russell Martin’s side captured an incredible 54 points from a possible 66 and will trail Ipswich by 13 points if they lose at Portman Road.

Town’s 1-0 win in the reverse fixture was the last time Southampton failed to score. They’ve found the back of the net in 30 Championship contests since.

On the other hand, McKenna’s team have scored a whopping 53 goals at home, which equates to an average of 3.78 per game.

They’ve only lost once at home and even then they found the net three times, so both teams to score and three or more goals looks likely.

Notably, Ipswich have won one of eight meetings with the sides currently in the top six, failing to beat Leeds, Leicester, West Brom and so far Norwich.

Southampton’s record against teams in the top half isn’t great. They’ve failed to win 10 of 19 and have plundered 65% of their points from the bottom half of the table.

 

Key stats

- Ipswich have scored in every home match
- Ipswich average 3.78 goals per game at Portman Road
- Southampton have scored in their last 30 Championship matches
- Southampton have failed to win 10 of 19 against top-half teams

 

Suggested bets

Both teams score & over 2.5 goals

Ipswich Town to win

Half with the most goals: Second