For the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town will meet in a Championship fixture on Saturday at The Hawthorns.
A 2-1 defeat at Southampton in their previous encounter dropped the Baggies down to seventh in the table, below Sunderland on goal difference, while the Tractor Boys defeated Swansea City 3-2, moving them into a tie for first with Leicester City.
Match preview
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West Brom continue to struggle late in matches, with a point in their grasp on matchday 16 of the Championship before conceding the winner 11 minutes from the end.
To this point of the domestic campaign, Carlos Corberan's men have given up a goal beyond the 70th minute on five occasions, losing two encounters when doing so.
Between now and early December, though, there is an opportunity for them to regain some ground in the quest for promotion, with two of their next three matches coming against the top two teams, and two of those encounters taking place on their home field.
The Baggies are unbeaten in five successive Championship home fixtures, outscoring the opposition by a margin of 6-1 over that stretch.
This team have started most of their domestic affairs in 2023-24 quickly, conceding first just once (2-1 defeat versus Huddersfield Town), and scoring within the opening half-hour on five separate occasions at The Hawthorns.
They have lost only one of their last five matches in all competitions versus the Tractor Boys, playing to a 1-1 draw the previous time both sides met in the Championship (2018-19).
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Despite incurring some early setbacks in a number of their recent matches, Ipswich Town have continuously found ways to avoid defeat in this competition, earning at least a point in their previous 12 Championship affairs.
Kieran McKenna's side have conceded first in four successive league fixtures but have fought their way back each time to earn a positive result, while they are unbeaten domestically in 2023-24 when going down 1-0.
Their first season back in the Championship is shaping up to be equally successful, if not better than the 2022-23 campaign in League One, when they finished second with 98 points.
The Blues have built up an eight-point advantage over Leeds United in the table, a decent cushion given that the top two teams at the end of the campaign will be automatically promoted into the Premier League.
One area which has regressed for Ipswich a little since the beginning of their campaign is their defending, with Ipswich conceding multiple strikes in five of their previous six league fixtures.
The Tractor Boys have conceded a total of four goals in their previous two away matches in this competition, two more than they had given up in their opening five league games as the visitors.
Team News
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This weekend, the Baggies will be without Daryl Dike, who is dealing with an Achilles injury, and Adam Reach is unlikely to feature because of a muscle strain.
There may be some good news for them heading into this weekend, as Josh Maja and leading goalscorer John Swift were back on the training ground, having each missed time previously with an ankle and calf injury, respectively.
Kyle Bartley had the only goal in their defeat to Southampton two weeks ago, while their skipper Jed Wallace, Matt Phillips and Semi Ajayi each netted in their previous home game when they defeated Hull City 3-1.
During the two-week break, Nathan Broadhead, Massimo Luongo, and Cameron Burgess were away from Ipswich on international duty, with Broadhead representing Wales and Luongo and Burgess being called-up to the Australian national team.
Jack Taylor has goals in back-to-back domestic contests as he, leading scorer Conor Chaplin and George Hirst found the back of the net in their previous encounter versus Swansea.
Captain Sam Morsy netted in their previous away fixture against Rotherham, while Taylor put them in front in the 87th minute of that game, only for Christ Tiehi to pull his side level four minutes later as both teams played to a 2-2 draw.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Kipre, Townsend; Diangana, Molumby, Mowatt, Phillips; Wallace, Sarmiento
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Clarke, Woolfenden, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Taylor; Luongo, Chaplin, Broadhead; Hirst
We say: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Ipswich Town
Ipswich have never beaten West Brom away from home during the Championship era, but this team always seem to defy the odds and turn one point into three.
While the Baggies have been relatively sharp at home domestically this season, they have been somewhat unpredictable at times, as the pressure seems to get to them in the latter stages of a match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
