Raphael Durand
Dailysports's expert
One of the matches of the 37th round of the English Championship will take place on Sunday at the King Power Stadium, where local side Leicester will host Ipswich. I’m backing a bet on goals in this clash, with an attractive odds offer.
Match preview
Rudd van Nistelrooy’s side has long come to terms with the inevitable relegation, having settled on the penultimate spot in the league table. Ipswich, just above them, have the same 22 points, but that’s hardly any consolation for their fans. Despite this, the players have decided to make some noise in the final rounds of the season. First, the club confidently beat Southampton 2-0 at home, then surprised everyone with a draw away to Nottingham Forest (2-2) — a club still fighting for a European spot.
Interestingly, throughout the current campaign, van Nistelrooy’s charges have not managed a streak of three or more unbeaten matches. The home stats are also telling: in nine out of their last ten home fixtures, the team failed to find the net. Clearly, this recent mini-run of positive results is more of an exception to the season’s overall trend.
Kieran McKenna’s team have now gone six Premier League matches without a win, suffering four defeats and recording two draws in that stretch. With such results, relegation to the Championship was all but inevitable. Over a longer spell, things look even gloomier: just one win in their last 17 games, with four draws and twelve defeats.
One of the main reasons for Ipswich’s downfall has been their disastrous defense — McKenna’s men have already shipped 77 goals. That’s the third-worst record in the league, behind only Leicester (78 goals conceded) and this season’s main underperformer, Southampton (82 goals). Their away form has also been poor — just one win in the last ten on the road, with four draws and five losses. It’s obvious the team faces a major rebuild before their return to the Championship.
Probable lineups
- Leicester: Jakub Stolarczyk – Wout Faes, James Justin, Luke Thomas, Conor Coady – Wilfred Ndidi, Jordan Ayew, Oliver Skipp, Bilal El Khannouss, Kasey McAteer – Jamie Vardy
- Ipswich: Alex Palmer – Dara O’Shea, Cameron Burgess, Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Greaves – Jack Taylor, Sam Morsy – Conor Chaplin, Omari Hutchinson, Julio Enciso – Liam Delap
Match facts and head-to-head
- The first-round match ended in a 1-1 draw
- The "Both teams to score" bet has landed in four of the last five matches
- The "Total over 2.5" bet has come through in two out of five meetings
Prediction
Both clubs have wrapped up their seasons in disappointment: there’s been no tournament motivation for a while, and the only question is who finishes 18th and who settles for the penultimate spot. The reason for their downfall is obvious — dreadful defending. This season, both teams have some of the league’s worst defensive records, conceding more than two goals per game on average. There’s no doubt that clean sheets will be hard to come by in this head-to-head. Our bet: "Both teams to score" at odds of 1.61.
