Tottenham Hotspur vs Ipswich Town Prediction: Sluggish Spurs to start slowly again

Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 3-2 defeat away to Galatasaray in the Europe League on Thursday but will be looking to build on last weekend's 4-1 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League. Their next opponents at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (14:00), Ipswich Town, are yet to win a game since returning to the top flight earlier this year.

Below is my Tottenham Hotspur vs Ipswich Town prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this clash in N17.

Team News

Richarlison came on before the hour mark last Sunday but had to be taken off himself before the end of the game, and his boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that the Brazilian is now set for a "significant" spell on the sidelines.

The 27-year-old joins Wilson Odobert and Micky van de Ven in the Tottenham treatment room, while Timo Werner and Mikey Moore are both doubts after missing the midweek defeat in Turkey.

Djed Spence is nearing a return to action but this weekend may come too soon for the Englishman, while there is hope that Cristian Romero can shake off the problem that forced him off against Villa.

The likes of Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke are expected to return to the starting XI after Postecoglou made seven changes on Thursday.

Football Odds

Manchester City loanee Kalvin Phillips was sent off for two bookable offences in Ipswich Town's 1-1 draw with Leicester City last Saturday and will serve a one-game suspension at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend. Either Jens Cajuste or Massimo Luongo are likely to replace him in the middle of midfield.

Defender Harry Clarke, who spent time at Arsenal before rejoining Ipswich last year, is back from a ban of his own and is available for selection in north London.

However, Axel Tuanzebe, Chiedozie Ogbene, Jacob Greaves and Jack Taylor are all out injured.

Former Spurs winger Jack Clarke is an option in attack if head coach Kieran McKenna opts to freshen things up either side of Liam Delap.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Ipswich Town Odds

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Tottenham Hotspur are 1/4 to take all three points on home soil, giving Postecoglou's side an implied win probability of 80%, while Ipswich Town are 10/1, or a 9.1% chance, to claim victory at the 11th attempt in the Premier League.

A draw is priced at 11/2, both teams to score at 4/7, and over 2.5 total goals at 2/7.

Solanke (5/6) leads the anytime goalscorer market, with Son (23/20) and Brennan Johnson (5/4) not too far behind. Delap (11/4) is considered Ipswich's most likely man in the market.

First Team To Score - Ipswich Town @ 5/2

I still expect Tottenham to win Sunday's match, but I do think there is value to be had in backing Ipswich to open the scoring in N17.

Spurs have conceded the first - or only - goal of the game on six occasions in the Premier League this term, including in their last three outings in the competition, while they have also fallen behind in the Carabao Cup against Coventry City and in the Europe League against Galatasaray on Thursday.

Aston Villa, West Ham United and Brentford have all struck first in the last three league games at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and Ipswich will be looking to make it four in a row this weekend.

Despite their struggles this season, the Tractor Boys have opened the scoring in 50 per cent (five) of their 10 Premier League games, including their last two - last Saturday's draw with Leicester and the dramatic 4-3 defeat to Brentford a week prior.

McKenna's side even struck first at the Etihad Stadium in August before Manchester City ran away 4-1 winners, so Sunday's visitors should back themselves to at least get on the scoresheet in north London, and they've shown that they can start strongly.

Considering Spurs' problems in the first half of games this season, I think 5/2 for Ipswich to net first may be worth a dabble.

Bet Builder - Leif Davis (IPS) 1+ Shots & Liam Delap (IPS) 1+ Shots on Target @ 9/2

Last week's goalscorer against Leicester, left-back Leif Davis, is averaging 0.8 shots per Premier League game for Ipswich this season, taking at least one in six of his 10 appearances.

He failed to trouble Liverpool, Manchester City, West Ham United and Everton but took one shot against each of Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton, Aston Villa and Leicester, scoring against the latter, and recorded three efforts against Brentford on October 26.

The 24-year-old takes set-pieces so he could trouble Spurs from a free-kick, or from open play. At over EVS, he's worth a punt to have at least one shot, in my opinion.

I'm pairing a Davis shot with a Delap shot on target.

The 21-year-old has made an impressive start to life at Portman Road following his summer move from Manchester City, scoring five goals in his first 10 Premier League appearances for the club.

He's averaging 1.6 shots per game (0.8 on target) and will be desperate to get back in the goalscoring groove after blanking against the Foxes last time out.

Spurs gave up eight shots on target in Istanbul on Thursday, two against Villa last Sunday, and six in their previous Premier League game at Crystal Palace.

Delap has the physicality to cause issues for the likes of Romero and Pedro Porro and one shot on target feels like a realistic shout to take this Bet Builder up to 9/2.

Offers

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