Liverpool Tipped to Earn First Premier League Win Against Newcomers Ipswich

Liverpool has yet to win this Premier League season, but a newly promoted opponent could offer the chance to change that. The team travels to Ipswich Town for the third-round match after drawing its first two games 2-2.

Liverpool fell behind against both Newcastle and Nottingham Forest before fighting back to level. Ipswich, meanwhile, began its return to the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland, then suffered a heavy 5-2 defeat against Manchester United.

Both teams have shown early weaknesses. Ipswich signed 14 players during the summer for a reported total of 220.65 million euros, more than Manchester United and Barcelona spent in the same period. Coach Gary O’Neil has had little time to build cohesion among the newcomers.

Liverpool also spent heavily, paying 264.6 million euros in the transfer market. Much of that amount went toward the 125 million-euro signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain. Yet the article identifies defense, rather than attack, as the team’s main concern. Liverpool has scored four goals in two matches, while center-back partners Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araújo have struggled, and supporters have grown frustrated with full-backs Jeremy Frimpong and Milos Kerkez.

Injuries to Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni leave coach Iraola relying on the same pair of wide defenders. Sport Mole’s supercomputer gives Liverpool a 44.39% chance of winning, compared with 30.9% for Ipswich. The prediction is Liverpool 2-1, with Liverpool leading 1-0 at halftime.