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EPL Arsenal vs Ipswich Town Preview: Tips, Odds, and Prediction

With excitement building and anticipation growing ahead of kickoff, Premier League betting fans are already diving into the odds and assessing both teams, hoping to find the best value. For a detailed, in-depth look at the match, be sure to check out our full preview. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal welcomes Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town to the Emirates Stadium in North London on the day after Boxing Day.

Tim Rickson
Tim Rickson

Last Updated: 2024-12-19

Chad Nagel

6 minutes read

William Saliba, Mikel Merino, Gabriel and Kai Havertz

William Saliba, Mikel Merino, Gabriel and Kai Havertz//Getty Images

At the time of writing, Arsenal are unbeaten in their last nine games, whereas Ipswich have lost three of their last four.

Arsenal have won over half of their games against Ipswich Town over the last 60 years and have never been beaten by them in a Premier League match. The last time Ipswich were able to defeat Arsenal in the league was in Division One, over 40 years ago in 1984.

After 16 games, these two teams are at opposite ends of the table with Arsenal third from top and Ipswich Town third from bottom.

The Gunners are chasing league leaders Liverpool, who have a six-point lead at the time of writing, and the Tractor Boys are scrapping for survival, so expect a fiercely fought fixture.

Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability: Arsenal Heavy Favourites

  1. Home: 3/20 (1.15) – 87%

  2. Draw: 36/5 (8.20) – 12,2%

  3. Away: 17/1 (18.00) – 5,6%

  4. *Odds courtesy of Betway, subject to change*

Head-to-Head Record

Last Five Meetings

  1. 25/01/11: Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich Town

  2. 12/01/11: Ipswich Town 1-0 Arsenal

  3. 21/04/02: Arsenal 2-0 Ipswich Town

  4. 01/12/01: Ipswich Town 0-2 Arsenal

  5. 10/02/01: Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich Town

Arsenal: Current Form – WDWDWW

The Gunners have had a successful season so far, reflected in their recent form, having not lost a match since November 6, when Inter Milan edged them 1-0 in the Champions League.

Arsenal are currently third in the league, at the time of writing, which reflects their status in English football history as the third most successful club for trophies won.

However, they are fourth in the league for best goal difference, behind Liverpool (18), Chelsea (18) and Tottenham (17).

12 of their players have got onto the scoresheet in the league this season, with forward Kai Havertz leading with five EPL goals (10 overall), joint top with Bukayo Saka. Havertz also has two assists this season, but Saka is top with 10.

The North London giants are having a successful season so far, their only two losses coming from Newcastle Bournemouth. Matches against both Liverpool and Chelsea above them ended in draws.

Key Players To Watch

  • Gabriel Jesus – Brazilian wizard Gabriel Jesus scored a hat-trick to book Arsenal’s place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals. After just two goals all year, all the hard work in training finally paid off for the world-class striker.
  • Bukayo Saka – Right winger and England international, Bukayo Saka, is an exceptional creative player, known for his pace and dribbling ability. Now 23, Saka has been with Arsenal since the age of seven. He has since scored 67 goals in his seven seasons in the Premier League.
  • Declan Rice – Rice is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, which is why the 25-year-old has 62 England caps. He played over 200 games for West Ham before signing for Arsenal in July 2023, which was reportedly a club-record fee of over £100 million.

Arsenal Team News

Arsenal secured their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace on December 18, where they could meet either Liverpool, Newcastle, or the winner of Manchester United and Tottenham.

The club have decided not to renew Scotland international Kieran Tierney’s contract after five years at the club. The left-back has been plagued by injuries and slipped down the pecking order, loaned out to Real Sociedad. It looks like Celtic could be the ones to capture Tierney on a free. 

Ipswich Town: Current Form – WLLLDW

The Tractor Boys secured a vital three points from relegation rivals, Wolves, in their last match, at the time of writing, lifting them to the top of the relegation zone at 18th, just two points away from escaping the dreaded area.

There’s a long way to go, but beating Wolves, after losses to other relegation candidates Crystal Palace and Everton, will offer a glimmer of hope.

However, their fixtures over Christmas are less than favourable, having to go against the likes of Newcastle, Arsenal and Chelsea, all within 10 days of each other.

Key Players To Watch

  • Liam Delap – Star striker, Liam Delap, has scored six in 16 Premier League games so far this season. The son of Rory Delap, Liam played in the Manchester City academy from the age of 10, and only just signed for Ipswich this July, for a reported £20 million.
  • Sam Morsy – Egyptian international Sam Morsy is the club captain, leading the team by examples with his high work rate and dominance in the middle of the park, breaking up play with his anticipation, interceptions and top tackling ability.
  • Omari Hutchinson – 21-year-old Hutchinson scored 11 goals in the Championship last season, helping his club gain promotion back to the top flight for the first time since 2002. He’s already bagged his first-ever Premier League goal and will be hunting for more.

Ipswich Town Team News

Both Liam Delap (suspension) and George Hirst (injured) were unavailable for their last fixture with Newcastle, but Delap should be in the selection for this game.

Ipswich are interested in Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath but may have to compete with West Ham for the star striker’s signature.

Predicted Line-Ups

  1. Arsenal: 4-3-3

    Raya; Timber, Saliba, Magalhaes, Partey; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.

  2. Ipswich Town: 3-4-2-1

    Muric; Clarke, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Burns, Chaplin, Hutchinson; Delap.

Suggested Bets

If you love betting on football, here are some bets you can place at some of the popular sportsbooks.

  1. Both Teams to Score (No) & Over 2.5 Goals: Just one team to score – namely Arsenal – could be worth a punt. (16/10 with Betway) (17/25 with 1Win)

  2. Correct Score: The odds for Arsenal to win 3-0 looks attractive. (67/10 with Betway) (69/10 with 1Win)

  3. Total Goals Over 4.5: Arsenal are favourites, but Ipswich have scored a goal per game, so this bet could be worth a think. (161/100 with Betway) (161/100 with 1Win)

Value Bets

  1. Gabriel Jesus – To Score 2 or More Goals: After scoring a hat trick recently, Jesus to score two is worth a punt. (58/10 with 1Win)

  2. Liam Delap – Anytime Goalscorer: Leading scorer for Ipswich, Delap could score anytime in the match. (2/1 with 1Win)

  3. First Team to Score – Arsenal: The home team, Arsenal, looking the strongest of the two, are likeliest to strike first. (7/50 with 1Win)

Prediction: Arsenal to Win

It’s been a brutal season so far for the newly promoted Ipswich. The Premier League is one of the hardest, most competitive leagues in the world and they have certainly found out the hard way.

It’s crucial to be able to score goals in this league and Ipswich have been unable to do so, with just 16 in 16, averaging only a goal a game. And with 28 against, they are on a worrying minus-12 goal difference.

Arsenal are averaging close to two goals per game and have a healthy goal difference of 14, which is the fourth-best in the league.

With Gabriel Jesus back in the side and hitting form again, Arsenal could win this game by a big margin, such as 3-0.

Tim Rickson
Tim RicksonSports Writer

Tim has over 27 years experience within the sports industry, working for football clubs Arsenal FC and Millwall FC, and boxing news websites British Boxing News, Boxing Social and Global Boxing News. His boxing articles have been published in Boxing News Magazine, national newspapers, plus many other major news outlets.

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