An in-form Bournemouth look to continue their recent resurgence when they travel to face an Ipswich side who’ve been making their mark at home this season and are managed by a familiar face.
Match News and Current Form
Eleven points from the opening nine games represent a solid start for Ipswich, and whatever happens here they’ll be going into the international break outside of the drop zone. The lion’s share of their points this term have been won at Portman Road, where their seven-point haul is already equal to what they amassed there in the entire 2024/25 relegation campaign. A three-match winless league run (D2, L1) hints that they’re far from guaranteed to add to that tally here, but there’s some added incentive for boss Gary O’Neil, who aims to win a home H2H against his former club for the first time ever (L2).
There’s no stopping Bournemouth at the moment, as their winning run stretched to a mightily impressive seven matches in midweek with a 2-1 win away to Sparta Prague in the UEFA Europa League. The Cherries have all but assured their safe passage to the knockout stages in Europe, and can now focus on picking up a fourth Premier League win in succession within the same season for the first time since December 2023 here. A six-match winless league run against newly-promoted sides muddies the waters somewhat (D5, L1), yet having conceded just one goal in over 600 minutes of play, Marco Rose’s men have the ultimate platform to build upon.
Head-to-Head History
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their four league visits to Portman Road (W1, D3), but after winning the last H2H, Ipswich could now win consecutive league meetings for the first time since 1955.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Ipswich have conceded four of their five home league goals this season before half-time.
Only Chelsea’s Premier League games have seen more goals (34) than Ipswich’s (32) pre-round.
Bournemouth have scored five of their seven away league goals this term in the first half.
Pre-round, only two teams have committed more Premier League fouls than Bournemouth (120) this season.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Ipswich’s Julio Enciso has scored in Ipswich’s last two matches, with his last four goals for club or country coming in games that finished level after 90 minutes. Bournemouth’s Evanilson has already eclipsed his Premier League goal contribution tally for last season (G6, A1) with the eight he’s racked up so far (G4, A4) - none of his last seven competitive goals for the Cherries arrived before the 30th minute.
Ipswich hope to see Saša Lukić return from injury here, a sentiment shared by Bournemouth with Alex Scott.
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Betting Analysis
Ipswich’s knack for conceding before the break, and Bournemouth’s for scoring then, hint that backing the Cherries to score before half-time is a shrewd choice.
Author: Chris Wilson