This one feels like one of the more straightforward predictions from this weekend's Premier League lineup. Excluding penalty shootouts, City haven't lost a game, in any competition, at the Etihad since November 2022.
17 of Erling Haaland's 27 league goals last season came against sides that finished in the bottom half of the table, and if we assume that's where Ipswich will end up this season then we can conclude he's a good bet to get on the scoresheet here.
Ipswich captain Sam Morsy entered the referee's notebook on 14 occasions last season and in a game where his side will see little of the ball, a booking looks very much on the cards for him.
Pep Guardiola's side scored 58 goals in 20 games against bottom half teams last season, so it would be of no surprise to see them put quite a few goals past an outmatched Ipswich side this weekend.
Manchester City 3-0 Ipswich.
MANCHESTER CITY VS. IPSWICH TOWN: PREDICTION, PREVIEW & BETTING ODDS
Ipswich Town continue their exceptionally tough start to life back in the Premier League as they travel to face Manchester City away from home.
Date: 24/08/2024
Kick-off time: 9:00 EST
Location: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Manchester City currently sit 4th in the Premier League with three points. Pep Guardiola's side are looking to make history for what feels like the umpteenth time during the Catalan's time at the club as they search for a fifth straight Premier League crown.
The Sky Blues are a very settled outfit, coming into the campaign with largely the same squad that won the league last season - barring the addition of Savinho and one or two players from the academy.
City looked solid yet unimpressive on the opening day of the season against Chelsea, something we've become almost used to with this iteration of Guardiola's team who are far less free-flowing than they once were but are very adept at simply getting the job done with minimal fuss.
It remains to be seen whether or not City will dip back into the transfer market in search of further reinforcements; if they do it's likely they'll make a move for a midfielder. The team still needs a competent backup for Rodri and you can argue İlkay Gündoğan's goals from midfield have not been properly replaced.
Regardless, even if this is all they'll have they're still likely to push for the title, if not go all the way again.
City scarcely lose at the Etihad and especially not to newly promoted teams, so while it will be interesting to see how Ipswich fare the result of this game is in little doubt.Ipswich currently sit 18th in the Premier League with 0 points. The Tractor Boys are many neutral’s favourite Premier League team this year. Under Kieran McKenna, one of the country’s most exciting young managers, Ipswich are living a fairytale, having sealed a surprise promotion to the Premier League last season after securing a 2nd place finish in League One the season prior.
Ipswich are, unsurprisingly, one of the favourites to be relegated back to the Championship but in their opening game against Liverpool, the side displayed plenty of promise.
The club has done some promising business in the transfer window and a couple of their new additions put their qualities on full display at the weekend. Centre-back Jacob Greaves, signed from Hull City, delivered a commanding performance at the back, while striker Liam Delap, signed from Manchester City, looked a livewire.
Some of Ipswich’s summer signings are youngsters who will need time to settle, but there is a balanced blend of youth and experience in the squad and there are more new signings yet to be fully integrated into the team, so there is a real sense of hope surrounding Ipswich’s prospects this season.
Nobody expects them to get anything from this game and at the end of the day, encounters with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City are unlikely to decide the fate of a relegation contender. McKenna will be happy if his side hold their own here - anything else is a bonus.
WHERE TO WATCH
You can catch this game on Peacock in the US.
TEAM NEWS
Manchester City Team News:
City will likely be without midfielder Rodri once again, who has been given an extended rest following this summer's Euros.
Summer signing Savinho was withdrawn at half-time at Stamford Bridge with a knock and is a doubt here.
Nathan Aké could come into the starting XI, possibly at the expense of Manuel Akanji.
Predicted lineup: Ederson; Lewis; Dias, Aké, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovačić, De Bruyne; Foden, Haaland, Doku.Ipswich Team News:
The Tractor Boys will be without George Hirst, Cameron Humphreys, Nathan Broadhead and Harry Clarke, all of whom are missing through injury. New loan signing Kalvin Phillips will also be unavailable to feature against his parent club.
Kieran McKenna likes to rotate his line-up weekly, so new signing Sammie Szmodics could be handed a first start for the club after coming off the bench for his debut at the weekend.
City's season kicked off slightly earlier than most other sides' in the Premier League as they locked horns with rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield. In what was a close and competitive encounter, City won an eventual penalty shootout after Bernardo Silva equalised late on off the bench after Alejandro Garnacho had given United the lead.
City then kicked off their 2024-25 Premier League campaign away at Chelsea, a game they won 2-0. Chelsea had one or two moments but the game was largely comfortable for City, who sealed the three points through goals from Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovačić.
City were missing star midfielder Rodri but Kovačić deputised excellently in his absence, delivering one of his best individual performances since signing for the club. Teenager Rico Lewis also stood out at right-back.
City barely got out of third gear on Sunday afternoon, so fans of the Manchester club will hope that the team still has several levels to work through before the end of the campaign.
Ipswich welcomed Liverpool to Portman Road in their first game of the season and despite suffering a 0-2 defeat, there were far more positives than negatives to take from the game.
The Tractor Boys were very competitive throughout the game, particularly in the first half where they defended extremely well and caused the Reds a number of problems on the break, with Omari Hutchinson and Liam Delap posing a potent threat in transition.
In the second half, Liverpool ultimately took the game away from Ipswich through a very impressive 45-minute display, with the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah providing moments of true world-class quality. There’s little Ipswich can do about moments like that, but the team’s showing was a valiant one and if they can continue to steadily improve as new faces are moulded into the side there’s no reason why they can’t stay up.
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