EFL Championship

Ipswich v Bristol City: Take Town at 4/5 on Tuesday

  • Mark O'Haire
  • Published on
  • Updated on
  • 3 min read
Kieran McKenna - Ipswich
Ipswich are only three points off the Championship summit

Promotion-chasing Ipswich welcome Bristol City to Portman Road for Tuesday night's televised Championship action. Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing the Tractor Boys to impress...


Ipswich v Bristol City
Tuesday, 20:00
Live on Sky Sports Football

Ipswich 1.584/7 head coach Kieran McKenna was pleased by the way his side persevered with their style after a difficult first half away at Plymouth to secure a vital 2-0 success. The Blues struggled in tough conditions and heavy pitch, meaning they were unable to build any momentum in a stop-start period as their opponents pressed with energy and intensity.

However, the Tractor Boys stuck to their principles, and it paid off after the break as an own-goal from Brendan Galloway and a powerful strike from Kieffer Moore sealed a fifth successive victory to push Town to within three points of the Championship summit.

Speaking post-match, McKenna said: "It was a really solid performance in all phases. I thought our organisation was good, our discipline was good, we were really competitive. The conditions weren't easy, but I thought we were mostly in control of the game, or as much as you realistically can be in an away game. We're very pleased."

McKenna made three changes to his starting XI with Wes Burns and Nathan Broadhead replaced by Jeremy Sarmiento and Lewis Travis, whilst Massimo Luongo missed out through illness and was replaced by Omari Hutchinson. Jack Taylor returned to the squad.

Teams P W D L GF GA PTS xGF xGA xGD EXP FCST
1 Birmingham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 Blackburn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 Bolton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 Bristol C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Burnley 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Cardiff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Charlton 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Derby 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Lincoln 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Middlesbrough 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Millwall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Norwich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Portsmouth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Preston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
15 QPR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 Sheff Utd 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
17 Stoke 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 Swansea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Watford 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 West Brom 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 West Ham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 Wolves 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23 Wrexham 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Southampton 0 0 0 0 0 0 -4 0 0 0
Show more Show less

Powered by

Opta

Bristol City 6.6011/2 saw their feint play-off hopes extinguished in the Severnside derby on Saturday. The Robins suffered a third straight league loss as City failed to convert possession and pressure into notable goalscoring attempts in a limp 1-0 loss at home to Cardiff, though manager Liam Manning insists he can deal with the criticism after his side were booed off.

Manning said, "I didn't think overall in the game there was a huge amount of quality which is something that's not new to us. We have been speaking about it too much. There's a reason we are one of the lowest scorers in the league. We had 17 shots, 12 inside the box, and we don't really test the keeper at all. We have to improve and we have to step up."

Perry Ng stooped to score the game's only goal in the 66th minute and the hosts never looked capable of mustering an equaliser to at least claim a share of the spoils and halt what has been a concerning run of defeats and a lack of goals. The full-time whistle was met with loud boos while several fans stayed behind to barrack Manning and his players.

Manning made four changes with Cam Pring, George Tanner, Anis Mehmeti and Tommy Conway moving to the bench and Ross McCrorie, Haydon Roberts, Andy King and Nahki Wells returning. Matty James didn't make the squad, while Kal Naismith wasn't deemed ready, though both players are expected to be in contention for Tuesday night.

Match Preview

Ipswich - Bristol C
Ipswich
  1. W
  2. D
  3. D
  4. W
  5. D
  6. L
Bristol C
  1. W
  2. L
  3. D
  4. L
  5. D
  6. W
Full stats Powered by Opta

Town to extend impressive winning streak

Ipswich have bagged five successive league victories, notching 17 goals in the process to reignite their promotion hopes. The Tractor Boys are back at Portman Road this midweek with Town taking W12-D2-L0 here when welcoming teams outside of the top-five - that includes scoring at least twice in 13 of 14 fixtures, averaging a monstrous 2.71 goals.

Back Ipswich to win and Under 4.5 Goals @ 4/51.80

Bet here

Three successive defeats have plunged Bristol City into the bottom-half with Liam Manning's men now only six points above the drop-zone. The Robins have W1-D0-L5 against the breakaway top-four - four of those losses arrived via a 1-0 scoreline; meanwhile, matches involving the guests are averaging a league-low average of just 2.26 goals per-game.

Backing Ipswich to win and Under 4.5 Goals appeals at [4/5]. The hosts have proven their class across the campaign, particularly at Portman Road, whilst Bristol City rarely get pulled into a high-scoring shootout. The Robins have seen 80% of their second-tier showdowns feature a maximum of three goals with 14 of their 15 losses delivering Under 4.5 Goals.


Watch Football...Only Bettor Champions League special


Read more Championship previews and tips here.


Recommended bets

Mark's 2023/24 Profit/Loss

Staked: 64 pts

Returned: 72.34 pts

P/L: +8.34 pts

New Customers can get £50 in free bets!

Available to new customers only. Place a £10 bet on the Betfair Sportsbook and you will receive £50 in free bets to use on Bet Builders and Accas! Opt-in here and T&cs apply.

Mark O'Haire avatar

Mark O'Haire

Long-standing betting.betfair tipster and member of the award-winning podcast, Football... Only Bettor.

Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.

Google preferred source button

Upcoming Championship Fixtures

Wolves vs Blackburn
View predictions

Bolton vs Preston
View predictions

Middlesbrough vs Lincoln
View predictions

Charlton vs Derby
View predictions

Portsmouth vs QPR
View predictions

Norwich vs West Brom
View predictions

Stoke vs Swansea
View predictions

Bristol C vs Millwall
View predictions

Sheff Utd vs Birmingham
View predictions

Watford vs Southampton
View predictions