Andoni Iraola arrives at Ipswich missing five key players and Gary O’Neil’s men will fancy their chances of causing a genuine upset on Friday night
Liverpool head to Portman Road this Friday in far from ideal shape and Ipswich Town will be licking their lips at the opportunity in front of them. With as many as eight players potentially unavailable across both sides, it’s Iraola’s injury-hit Reds who appear to be entering this one with the bigger selection headache.
Liverpool Limping Into Suffolk
Liverpool arrive still searching for their first win of the season, having drawn 2-2 in both their opening fixtures against Newcastle and Nottingham Forest. That leaves the Reds languishing in 13th place a position that will hardly fill their travelling supporters with confidence heading into a tricky away trip.
And the team news only adds to their problems. Iraola could be without five first-team players for the trip to Suffolk. Hugo Ekitike remains sidelined by an Achilles tendon rupture and isn’t expected back until the end of the year, while Giovanni Leoni hasn’t featured competitively since suffering an ACL injury on his debut 12 months ago. Conor Bradley continues his recovery from knee surgery and isn’t expected to return until December at the earliest, Joe Gomez remains out with a muscular issue, and Federico Chiesa though close to a return will also miss out through a lower back problem.
That’s a huge chunk of quality and depth missing from Liverpool’s ranks, particularly at centre-half, where Iraola is now dangerously short of options.
Ipswich Have Their Own Concerns But Far Less Severe
Ipswich aren’t entirely immune to injury troubles either. Gary O’Neil has confirmed that Jaden Philogene, Jack Taylor, and Azor Matusiwa will all miss out, continuing their respective recoveries from an ankle issue, a knee problem, and a thigh complaint. All three are expected to be sidelined for at least another week.
However, there’s genuine cause for optimism in Suffolk too. Both Florentino Luis and Emersonn, initially doubtful for the fixture, have since been confirmed as available a timely boost for O’Neil as he prepares his side for one of the club’s biggest home fixtures of the season so far.
Why Ipswich Should Fancy Their Chances
After opening the season with a spirited 2-1 win over Sunderland, followed by a chastening 5-2 defeat at Manchester United, Ipswich will see this as the perfect opportunity to bounce back and against a Liverpool side that’s toiled through two draws and is now missing several key defensive and attacking options, the timing couldn’t be better.
With a raucous Portman Road crowd behind them and Liverpool clearly still searching for rhythm, Ipswich have every reason to believe Friday night could produce one of the results of their entire Premier League campaign.
