Ipswich vs Brighton & Hove Albion Prediction: Delap & Baleba to try their luck at Portman Road

Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion return to Premier League duties in midweek following FA Cup third-round wins last weekend. The sides meet at Portman Road on Thursday (19:30, TNT Sports 2) with 12 points separating the 18th-placed Tractor Boys and the Seagulls in 11th.

Below is my Ipswich vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Omari Hutchinson hasn't featured for Ipswich in 2025 and a groin injury will keep him in the treatment room again this week. The 21-year-old won't be alone in there, though, as Axel Tuanzebe, Sammie Szmodics, Conor Chaplin and Chiedozie Ogbene are also still sidelined for Kieran McKenna's side.

Football Odds

Brighton & Hove Albion boss Fabian Hurzeler is sweating on the fitness of Georginio Rutter, who bagged a brace in Saturday's FA Cup third-round victory at Norwich City, and Yankuba Minteh, who set up the Frenchman's second at Carrow Road. Should the forward duo miss out on Thursday, they will join Igor, Mats Wieffer, Evan Ferguson, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner and likely Jack Hinshelwood in having a watching brief.

Lewis Dunk and Tariq Lamptey could return to action, however, and star man Joao Pedro, initially feared to be out for some time, may be back after just a one-game absence.

Ipswich vs Brighton Odds

Ipswich are unbeaten in their last two Premier League games, beating Chelsea 2-0 at Portman Road on December 30 before earning a point in a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage six days later. The Tractor Boys are an enticing 3/1 to triumph on home soil in midweek, implying a 25 per cent chance of success which is noteworthy given Brighton (10/11), offered a 52.4% chance of claiming victory, are winless in their last eight league games in a run that stretches back to late November.

The Seagulls have drawn six of their last eight, including their previous four, in the competition, though, and with the teams playing out a goalless draw at the Amex Stadium on September 14, 11/4 for another stalemate could be of interest on Thursday.

Both teams to score is priced at 8/13 and you can get 13/8 for over 3.5 total goals which was a winner in the home side's last league game and the visitors' last top-flight contest on the road.

Booking Points Handicap (+10) - Ipswich -10 @ 7/4

Only Chelsea (60) and Southampton (58) have picked up more Premier League yellow cards than Ipswich (53) this season, and only the Saints and Arsenal (both three) have received more reds than the Tractor Boys (two).

Brighton, meanwhile, have only received one red and Brentford (31) are the only club to have been shown fewer yellows than the Seagulls (40).

Hurzeler's side accrued more booking points in the reverse fixture at the Amex Stadium as they were shown four yellows compared to Ipswich's three, but half of the hosts' total came in the final 10 minutes, the last one to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen for dissent in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Despite Brighton topping the card count on the South Coast, I'm backing Ipswich on the -10 booking points handicap at Portman Road, a selection that requires the hosts to receive 20 more booking points than their opponents. With Betfred, a yellow card amounts to 10 booking points and a red 25, while two cautions resulting in a dismissal total 35 booking points for the purposes of the bet (see this handy guide for more on booking points).

So, Ipswich start the game on -10 booking points and Brighton on zero. Should the Tractor Boys receive two yellows (20 booking points), they would move on to +10 booking points, which would win this bet if the Seagulls keep themselves completely clean. Of course, if the visitors receive one yellow (10 booking points), they would move on to +10 booking points and Ipswich would need, for example, three yellows to move past them and on to +20 booking points.

Ipswich received 50 booking points at Craven Cottage in their last Premier League game, 40 more than their hosts, Fulham, and this has been a winning bet in 40 per cent (eight) of their 20 top-flight contests this season.

Brighton have a few players that attract a lot of fouls, notably Joao Pedro (fouled 2.1 times per game on average) and Rutter (1.6p/g), while the hosts have a few foul merchants in their side, chiefly Liam Delap and Sam Morsy, who average 2.1 and two fouls per game respectively.

If you're looking for value in the 'Player to Receive a Card' market, Ipswich left-back Leif Davis, booked in his last three games, might be one to consider at 9/2.

Bet Builder - Liam Delap (IPS) 2+ Shots, Carlos Baleba (BHA) 2+ Shots @ 11/4

This bet wasn't far off winning at the Amex in September as Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba shot four times, but Ipswich striker Delap was unable to add to his 55th-minute effort against the post as he was substituted four minutes later.

Delap has since established himself as a key player in this Tractor Boys side and especially at home, he should be afforded more minutes on the pitch this time around. The 21-year-old is averaging just under two shots per game (1.8) in the Premier League this season and managed four attempts last time out at Portman Road against Chelsea, scoring a penalty, which he also did last time out in the competition against Fulham. He's taken at least two shots in four of his last six home matches and will fancy his chances of registering a couple on Thursday against a side that conceded 20 shots at Villa Park in their last away game.

Baleba, meanwhile, is averaging 1.4 shots per game in 2024/25, helped by that four-shot tally against Ipswich earlier in the season. The 21-year-old has recorded multiple efforts on six other occasions, though, shooting at least twice in 46.7 per cent of his 15 Premier League starts, so looks good for two at Portman Road against a team he tried his luck against four times on the South Coast.

Offers

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