Or is it?
This should be dead easy. Ipswich are second bottom in the league and have gained a solitary point from their last 18. Even that was six games ago, meaning they’ve lost the last five games on the trot. Easy and this should be a gift of three points for us.
Except we very rarely do easy, do we? We couldn’t even beat Ipswich last time we played them, after all.
We should give ourselves every chance in this game if we manage to not let them score early, as most other teams manage to do . How nice was it for us to get an early goal against Spurs? Do the same today and it’ll be game over, I would think.
Squad news and foremost is that Ollie Watkins and Tyrone Mings are both in contention. Mings, as much as I’m not his biggest fan, is at least a proper defender and is sorely needed with the injury position we’re in. More good news is that our new loan signing, Axel Disasi is available after being cup-tied against Spurs. He’s only played six games this season, but even so, I’d expect him to come straight into the team. Mind you, we all know Unai isn’t afraid to play square pegs in round holes, so you never know. He may decide that Disasi isn’t ready. Given that Ipswich don’t score many, it wouldn’t surprise me.
On the downside, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are all still out, with no updates on how they’re progressing.
As for Ipswich, Sammie Szmodics will be assessed after he had a setback with an ankle injury last week. Conor Chaplin, Christian Walton, Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene are all out but goalkeeper Alex Palmer, who made his debut last weekend after joining from West Brom, could play his first Premier League game.
For the stattos amongst us, here’s a couple; Ipwich have only beaten us once in our last 14 meetings and they’ve only beaten us twice at Villa park in the last 44 years. Everything seems to be in our favour, doesn’t it? Which, knowing us, makes it scary.
Prediction time then and I simply cannot see us losing this one. Indeed, I think we should get a few goals today. That said, there’s another stat we’re probably vaguely aware of. We’ve only kept one clean sheet in our last 14 games.
So any score is invariably going to end in a -1
And I’m going for 3-1. I could easily see it being a bigger victory if we manage to motivate ourselves, but I see the lads subconciously taking it easy and the tractor boys giving us a tough time.
UTV!
And that’s what you get when you give the ball away eery couple of minutes.
Pathetic.
0-1
Good Heavens!
Utter utter shite. Can’t defend to save our lives, or season.
GO FORWARD FFS!!!!
Only Saints have more errors leading to goals than us. Extremely damning. Thursday 90% players, 10% manager imo.
What a joke giving the ball away, Salah first goal Garcia you dope .
Come back Cashy. All’s forgiven.
*That’s 90%
Stupid f****** phone
I can’t understand why you’d pass it backwards there. I just don’t get it. 😫😫😫
I tell my 7 year olds to never ever play backwards of sideways passes in the final third. For that reason. I just do not get it.
FUCKING COME OOOOOOOOOOONN!!!!!
Tielemens, get in!
1-1
Can we make a real game of it?
Where’s the defence???!!!
We haven’t got one.
It real is a poor state.
Rogers and Watkins not in the game.
Liverpool are just so hard to play against.
They press you to death and you can see why they are where they are.
Commentator: “Craig Pawson is being rather generous tonight.”
Add your own expletive insult…
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Watkins!
Have that, lovely play, 2-1
Wooooooooooo! What a run from Ollie!!! Love the movement!
That was like watching us defend, haha.
Honestly, I was watching it and thinking keep running, follow it in. Well done, lad!
It’s working lads. ,
What a game!
Liking Rashford hanging wide on the left you blind e and his positive approach.
Also well done to Garcia, he provides balance to the right and we can now attack down both flanks. I appreciate he made the mistake for their goal.
Class cross from Digne, not flat but up and down so only Watkins could reach it – and for once a great finish. Now if Garcia can mimic the parabola from the right i might forgive him.
Why are some of our players wearing black armbands?