Buy our exclusive European football stadium poster

Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United preview, team news, tickets & prediction

Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United preview, team news, tickets & prediction

51 times-that is the number of times that an Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United match has been played. 17 times-this is the number of times Newcastle United have won and of the remaining 34 times, Ipswich Town have won 18 times.

Usually, this would provide a backbone for analysis or a preview of the upcoming Premier League clash, but this information does nothing to prepare anyone for what fans are about to witness on 21 December 2024 at Portman Road.

The last four times both teams met were in 2009/10 and 2016/17, when Newcastle were in the lower tiers of English football. They had four battles-two each-in the EFL Championship (English second division) which was how Newcastle were able to catch up to within one win of Ipswich in their all-time head-to-head. Before those battles in the 2009/10 and 2016/17 seasons, their last Premier League meeting was in 2001/02 when Ipswich last played in the English top flight.

This should show you how far removed both teams have been from each other. As is expected, there have been a lot of changes at both Portman Road and St. James' Park since then-one of which is Newcastle coming under the control of some very rich owners that have changed their fortunes in only three seasons. Every single fan will have to come to the game with a fresh perspective and ready for a new experience because that is what they are going to get.

A look at the form guides of both teams can give an insight into what holders of Ipswich Town tickets and holders of Newcastle United tickets can expect, however.

As a newly promoted side, the Tractor Boys are doing just as expected-battling relegation, irking big teams, and struggling to get results on the board. Newcastle United are comfortably mid-table but are closer to the top four than they are to relegation (only four points separate them from the team in the last European spot).

Ipswich returned to the Premier League in the worst way possible-with back-to-back matches against the top flight's scariest teams, Liverpool and Manchester City. They lost both, as expected, but they went on to face the stronger mid-table teams like Fulham, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Aston Villa, only to come out unscathed. These series of matches announced them to the rest of the league as a team not to be glossed over, but as stated earlier, they are still going through the phase that most new sides have to go through when they gain promotion to the Premier League.

Newcastle are experiencing a bit of a fall-off, on the other hand. They have gone from challenging for the top four to trying to stay in the European race, and now to battling to remain din the top 10, which is a familiar sight for their fans (this was Newcastle's best after the end of their Alan Shearer era). In that time, they have faced four of the traditional top-six teams (Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City).

They put in strong performances against Arsenal and Tottenham (a win against each) and drew against Manchester City. Against the lesser teams is where their struggles lie, which places them firmly in the palms of Ipswich Town.

Fans are expecting a tactical battle between Kieran McKenna and Eddie Howe-two managers who could end up managing the Three Lions of England someday-come matchday 17 of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Read on for the matchday tickets information, team news, predicted XIs and score lines prediction.

Match tickets

Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United tickets for the matchday 17 Premier League 2024/25 clash at Portman Road, Ipswich, are on sale.

The 29,000-capacity seater stadium is expecting a full crowd on that day because both sets of fans see this match as a litmus test for how they are performing this season: Ipswich fans will want to know if they can hold off Newcastle to give them more confidence for the bigger teams while Newcastle will want to see if they can drown Ipswich to give them more confidence against the smaller teams.

Early registration is the key to getting a ticket to the game, else you will need to visit ticket resale platforms like the non-local fans who want to buy tickets from other fans looking to give their up, the game is scheduled to kick off at 4 PM UK time and will be played on 21 December 2024 as stated in the review section of this article.

Team news

In October, McKenna lost three important players: Jacob Greaves, Jack Taylor and Chiedozie Ogbene. These three picked up injuries within a week of each other, which put the former Manchester United assistant in a precarious situation. Their return dates are unknown, but McKenna will be able to count on the likes of Liam Delap, Leif Davis, Axel Tuanzebe and Omari Hutchinson, who have been stalwarts for them.

Meanwhile, Howe is still working to reintegrate Sven Botman into the side following a cruciate ligament injury suffered in the latter stages of the last season. He could be on the bench for the game and get a few minutes, but the starting centre-back pairing for Newcastle should be Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. Howe's only long-term injury is Emil Kratfh, who broke his collarbone in early November.

Line-ups

Here is how we expect the teams to line up for this Boxing Day curtain raiser.

Ipswich Town: Muric; Davis, Burgess, O'Shea, Tuanzebe; Cajuste, Morsy; Szmodics, Hutchinson, Johnson; Delap.

Newcastle United: Pope; Kelly, Burn, Schar, Trippier; Willock, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Barnes, Isak, Gordon.

Prediction

As stated earlier, there is no history to pool from to give a near-accurate analysis of what will happen in this match. However, both teams look to be on equal footing despite how far apart from each other they are on points and on the table.

This match should be witnessed with fresh eyes and a neutral perspective, although this will be hard for fans of either side to do. Both teams are expecting to win and we will see this reflected on the pitch as both teams will come at each other from the first blast of the whistle.

Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Newcastle United




More articles from Football Ground Map...

The biggest football attendances ever recorded

The biggest football attendances ever recorded

An in-depth look at the biggest football attendances ever recorded, from the 1950 World Cup to pre-season friendlies in the States and the Scottish ground with dozens of 100,000+ attendances

Surviving football boredom - a football fans' guide

Surviving football boredom - a football fans' guide

23 interesting things to do to pass the time until the football season restarts


My Son's First Football Match

My Son's First Football Match

Taking my son to his first football match was one of the best experiences I've had as a father so far. I've written this article for Alex to read when he gets older.

The World's Barmiest Football Fan?

The World's Barmiest Football Fan?

Tony Incenzo has been to over 2,000 football grounds - is he the world's barmiest football fan? Read about his love for Non-League football and groundhopping obsession, including watching a match in prison!



Buy our exclusive European football stadium poster
Football posters and wall charts