Newcastle United had the momentum on their side and on a five-game winning run, they were the favourites to make it six while visiting Aston Villa last weekend. Little did they envisage the stellar performance from Unai Emrry’s side, who ended the game 4-1 and revived their chase for a top-five place.
The Magpies were third on the table heading to Villa Park, but have since seen the likes of Manchester City and Nottingham Forest go above them. The former faced Aston Villa on Tuesday and won, while the latter were victorious against Tottenham on Monday.
With a win over a struggling Ipswich Town on Saturday, the Magpies could re-take third spot as Manchester City and Nottingham Forest are not in action at the weekend. The primary objective is to finish within the top five positions, and as things stand, they are one of the favourites to play Champions League football next season.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town supporters are merely waiting for the official confirmation of their relegation back to the Championship. A terrible 4-0 loss at home to Arsenal all but ended any lingering hope of mathematically still being there, as another point for either West Ham United or themselves dropping any point will confirm their demotion.
In the game against Arsenal, Kieran McKenna stated the Gunners were of the highest standard for a team Ipswich Town have faced this season. The result was there to be seen on the pitch, as Mikel Arteta’s side were utterly dominant on the attacking side while keeping a tight lid at the back.
To make matters worse, with the score at 2-0, Ipswich Town defender Lief Davis was sent off for a challenge on Bukayo Saka. While the game ended 4-0 the scoreline could have been much worse, as the Tractor Boys are not destined to play Championship football once again, which could be confirmed against Newcastle United.
Jason Tindall will continue to step in for Eddie Howe, who continues to recover from pneumonia, as the assistant manager will name his strongest eleven to get the team over the line against Ipswich Town. Fabian Schar is a doubt after pulling up against Villa with a hamstring complaint.
Tindall did confirm his withdrawal was precautionary, although there will be question marks about the Swiss star starting just yet. The bigger concern will be to rush the defender given Sven Botman and Jamal Lascelles are out of the equation as Newcastle United may not want to be without Schar for the remaining games.
Emil Krafth could be drafted in as a centre-back should Schar miss out, as he will feature alongside Dan Burn in central defence. Kieran Trippier and Tino Livramento will continue to operate in the full-back roles, while Tindall is expected to retain the same midfield setup of Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. He will retain the front three including Harvey Barnes despite the return to fitness for Anthony Gordon.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3) – Pope; Trippier, Krafth, Burn, Livramento; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Isak, Barnes
McKenna’s problems only compounded with the team’s performance against Arsenal as they may have a new defensive conundrum to solve. The red card to Davis will see him miss three games in a row, and Conor Townsend is still a bit doubtful to feature.
Cameron Burgess is a good enough choice, but McKenna might use him as a centre-back, which could open the door for one of Ben Godfrey or Jacob Greaves to feature at left-back, with the latter likely to get the nod.
Beyond that issue, McKenna has a host of first-teamers missing from action, as the manager will likely use a similar setup in midfield and the front line to the one that started against Arsenal.
The only potential change from the last game would be the inclusion of Liam Delap, with the in-demand striker likely to lead the line for Ipswich Town.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1) – Palmer; Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Burgess, Greaves; Morsy, Cajuste; Johnson, Enciso, Clarke; Delap
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The Swedish striker has been arguably one of the consistent performers in the Premier League, and more so against promoted sides. He has 14 goals in his last 15 appearances against such teams, and there’s another chance to improve that tally when Newcastle United face Ipswich Town.
Isak has 21 goals in this Premier League season, and he will want to finish well within range of top scorer Mohamed Salah before the season ends. The idea of playing a team like Ipswich Town will be tempting for the striker to get some goals under his bag and help Newcastle United push to cement their place in the top five.
Ipswich Town are not under pressure of relegation anymore, as they are only on the brink of dropping down to the Championship. Yet, they seem to be in a place where they are unable to perform at their highest, as Arsenal carved through their defence throughout their encounter last time out.
Newcastle United are hoping the Villa result was merely a blip in their quest to finish in the top five, as they couldn’t have asked for a better game to bounce back. The Magpies are expected to put plenty of goals past this Ipswich Town team and move back into third place at the weekend.
