Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United Prediction: Score draw at Portman Road

A first win in over a month last weekend and just their second since earning promotion to the Premier League earlier this year should have Ipswich Town in a buoyant mood heading into Saturday's game against Newcastle United at Portman Road (15:00). The Magpies, meanwhile, secured a comprehensive victory last time out in the English top flight and secured progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals in midweek.

Read on for my Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Suspensions will hit both teams hard on Saturday, with Ipswich Town losing their six-goal top scorer, Liam Delap, to a one-game ban after he picked up a fifth caution of the campaign in last weekend's 2-1 win over Wolves at Molineux. With George Hirst still out injured, Ali Al-Hamadi could lead the line and make his first Premier League start.

Chiedozie Ogbene and Axel Tuanzebe, though, are still sidelined by a calf and thigh injury, respectively.

Football Odds

Like Delap, Newcastle's dynamic Brazilian Joelinton received his fifth yellow of the season last Saturday as the Magpies thrashed Leicester City 4-0 at St James' Park. The 28-year-old will be replaced by either Scott Longstaff, who sat out Wednesday night's Carabao Cup victory over Brentford (3-1) due to a suspension of his own, or Joe Willock, who came on for Joelinton at the start of the second half in midweek.

After nine months out injured, Sven Botman made his return to action on Monday in Newcastle U21's 3-2 win over their Chelsea counterparts, playing for an hour before being withdrawn as planned. Still, Saturday's game is likely to be too soon for the Dutchman to make his Premier League comeback, and he will be forced to watch on alongside stricken stars Callum Wilson, Nick Pope, Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth.

Ipswich Town vs Newcastle United Odds

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Ipswich are yet to win at Portman Road this season and are nine points behind their visitors on Saturday, justifying the 18/5 odds handed to them by Betfred. The Tractor Boys are given a 21.7% shot of taking all three points this weekend, while Newcastle are 8/11, or a 57.9% chance, to make it three wins on the bounce in all competitions by emerging victorious on the road for the first time since November 10.

The draw is priced at 3/1, both teams to score at 4/7, and over 3.5 total goals at 6/4.

Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, whose strike against Leicester last week took his Premier League tally to seven this season, is 21/20 favourite in the anytime goalscorer market, followed by teammates William Osula (6/4), Harvey Barnes (7/4) and Anthony Gordon (9/5), while Al-Hamadi is first up for the hosts at 12/5.

Match Result & Both Teams to Score - Draw & Yes @ 18/5

It will be of little surprise that I'm backing both teams to score at Portman Road given it has landed in 69 per cent (11) of Ipswich's 16 league outings this season, and 63 per cent (10) of Newcastle's, and the Magpies' number is swelled significantly by 88 per cent (seven) of their eight away games ending with at least a goal on either side.

Both teams to score has landed in back-to-back matches for the Tractor Boys and has landed in Newcastle's last four trips away from Tyneside, so I'm very confident in this first half of this bet.

The second part is a bit trickier as it requires neither side to win but, instead, to play out a score draw.

Stalemates have been pretty common for both teams with Ipswich drawing 37.5 per cent (six) of their league contests, and Newcastle drawing 31.3 per cent (five) of theirs. Eddie Howe's side have finished on level terms on three occasions away from home, with BTTS - Yes landing twice, while Ipswich, despite failing to win on home soil, have avoided defeat in half (four) of their eight fixtures at Portman Road, and all four have finished with at least a goal on either side.

Bet Builder - Alexander Isak (NEW) Anytime Goalscorer, Sandro Tonali (NEW) 1+ Shots, Leif Davis (IPS) 1+ Shots @ 4/1

Isak didn't find the net in midweek but has been in terrific form in the Premier League, scoring in three consecutive games since limping off in the 22nd minute of Newcastle's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on November 30. He opened the scoring in the Magpies' 3-3 draw with Liverpool on December 4 and struck his side's first in a 4-2 defeat at Brentford three days later before netting the third in last weekend's 4-0 win over Leicester.

This isn't Isak's outright longest consecutive run of games with a goal, though, having achieved that feat across October and November, scoring against Chelsea, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, while he also struck in a Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea, making it four games in a row with a goal, and he has seven in his last 10 club appearances.

The Sweden international scored against two of the newly-promoted sides last season, netting home and away against Sheffield United and Burnley, while he only played 52 minutes of one game against Luton Town and was injured for the other.

Isak only managed to grab an assist against Southampton on the opening day of the season but he struck against fellow Premier League newbies Leicester last week and will be confident of adding Ipswich to his victim list, with the Tractor Boys having kept just one clean sheet all season.

My second selection centres around Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, who I am backing to shoot at least once on Saturday. The 24-year-old bagged a brace against Brentford in midweek, registering five efforts, and should take that confidence with him into the weekend.

Tonali is averaging 0.8 shots per game in the Premier League despite only half (seven) of his appearances in the competition coming as a starter and he's let fly at least once in his last three league games against Leicester (three), Brentford and Liverpool (both one).

Rounding off this Bet Builder is Ipswich left-back Leif Davis, who was born in Newcastle and started his career at the famous youth football club Wallsend Boys Club in Wallsend, North Tyneside.

Davis is from a Magpies-mad family and was a season ticket holder at St James', so you can imagine he'll be well up for the occasion on Saturday.

The 24-year-old ended a four-game wait for a shot last weekend but had recorded at least one effort in six of his previous nine appearances before that barren run and is averaging 0.6 shots per game over the campaign.

Offers

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