Football Bet of the Day: Tractor Boys can get back to scoring

Our Football Bet of the Day for Wednesday April 10 comes from the EFL Championship, where promotion contenders Ipswich Town will hope to return to winning ways as they take on Watford (19:45, Sky Sports Red Button). We’ve analysed a game and come up with our Football Bet of the Day, which should see goals at both ends in this crucial Championship encounter. Here’s how we think this one could play out. 

Ipswich will be seething after another derby day defeat at the weekend, but luckily for them, this game against Watford comes quickly. That 1-0 defeat against Norwich at Saturday lunchtime was painful for a number of reasons. Obviously, the derby is something that Ipswich fans have suffered for 15 years now, with no win against the Canaries in 15 years. 

It’s a remarkable run, which has surprisingly continued this season as Norwich took four points from their fiercest rivals, strengthening their own push for promotion in the process. That home win increased the likelihood that we could see an East Anglian derby in the play-offs, as we did back in 2015 when - you guessed it - Norwich beat Ipswich on their way to the Premier League. 

There will be some fears in the Ipswich ranks that another derby day defeat could knock them off course. Arguably they put in their worst performance of the season at Carrow Road, but they’ve been truly brilliant at home this term, and I’m backing them to get back to winning ways at Portman Road. 

Derbies are unique, and in that particular derby Ipswich have had horrendous results for over a decade. I’m happy to write it off as a one-off, especially given how brilliant the Tractor Boys have been over the past 18 months. Their home form is the second-best in the division, and they’ve won 15 of their 20 league games at Portman Road. In that time they’ve scored a ridiculous 56 goals, which is 10 more than any other side has managed at home in 2023/24. 

They face Tom Cleverley’s Watford, who have been decent since he took charge, winning one and drawing three of his four matches. They held Leeds and West Brom to draws, but I think a trip to Suffok to face the best attacking side in the league will prove too much to handle. I think they will probably get on the scoresheet in a high-scoring encounter, which is why I’m more than happy to back Ipswich to win and over 3.5 goals. Both teams have scored in four of the last six Watford games, with 2-2 draws against Leeds and West Brom both high-scoring results under Cleverley. 

There’s been over 3.5 goals in 70% of Ipswich’s home games this season, and with a desire to get back to winning ways, I like the price of  11/5 for it to happen again.

Check out our other Football Betting Tips here.