Sky Sports pundit makes prediction for Ipswich Town vs. QPR

admin | December 28, 2023 | Other Clubs | No Comments

Ipswich’s next job is significantly easier on paper than their last two, as the Hoops travel to Suffolk on Friday.

The top two in the Championship met on Boxing Day when Ipswich Town hosted Leicester City at Portman Road, and the hosts earned a merited point late in the game.

The Tractor Boys had 19 shots against the table-topping Foxes, who were leading 1-0 thanks to Stephy Mavididi’s first-half effort, but a Sam Morsy long-range strike deflected off Jannik Vestergaard in the 93rd minute saved a point for Kieran McKenna’s side.

It came after Southampton had closed the gap to four points earlier in the afternoon with their 5-0 demolition of Swansea City, but the late point gained extended it back to five, though the crushing defeat at Leeds United over the weekend ensured that things are much tighter now.

On Friday night, they will host the struggling Queens Park Rangers, who, after a promising start under Marti Cifuentes following his arrival in late October, have reverted to form with recent results.

Following a 2-0 win over Hull on December 9, the Hoops have failed to win in their following four games, with one draw and three losses – two of those defeats coming at the hands of relegation rivals Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday – and their struggle does not get any easier this week.

Prutton: Ipswich should secure win over QPR

Sky Sports commentator and former EFL midfielder David Prutton believes that, despite a difficult recent run, Kieran McKenna’s team should be too strong for their opponents, the Hoops, who have begun to wobble following a promising start under Cifuentes.

“Ipswich may have seen the gap close again from below, but the way they took a point off Leicester will feel like a win,” Prutton wrote in his Sky Sports predictions column.

“They will be buzzing as they prepare for another big game at Portman Road.

“The QPR bubble may have burst a little. Just one point from their last three games, all against sides they would be hoping to beat.

“There is a gap again to the sides outside the bottom three. And it could get bigger because Ipswich should win this. 2-1.”

Ipswich and QPR team news ahead of clash

With the announcement that Sam Morsy would be suspended, Ipswich have been dealt a blow ahead of the R’s visit.

Following a win earlier this month against Middlesbrough, the FA charged the Egypt international with a violation of regulation E3.1, which refers to acting improperly and/or abusing a match official in or around the changing rooms.

Ipswich will also be without striker George Hirst, who went out against Leicester with a hamstring problem, and while the severity is unknown, he is unlikely to be fit.

Meanwhile, QPR could see the return of midfielder Jack Colback, who has been out with a muscle injury since early December, but there are no new injury concerns for Cifuentes to deal with.