Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the English Premier League match.
While Ipswich Town have occasionally shown resilience against top teams, they now face a survival specialist—one that has already dragged itself out of the relegation fight. With a win here, Crystal Palace could climb to 11th place, which would be their highest position of the season.
Crystal Palace
A victory in this fixture would mark three consecutive league wins for Crystal Palace—something they haven't managed yet this campaign, despite previous streaks of three defeats and three draws in a row. The opportunity is there, but a significant setback has emerged. Last Saturday, they defeated Millwall (3:1) in the FA Cup, benefiting from their opponent’s goalkeeper being sent off in the 8th minute. However, the red card came at a cost—Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace’s main attacking force, suffered a nasty head injury after a reckless high boot. The Frenchman required 25 stitches to his ear and is expected to be sidelined until mid-March. Mateta has been Crystal Palace’s key goal contributor in recent games. In their last eight matches, they have scored 14 goals—and he has been directly involved in eight of them. Even in their 4:1 thrashing of Aston Villa, it was Mateta who scored the crucial second goal. His absence reduces Crystal Palace’s attacking efficiency by half, making this game much trickier for them.
Ipswich Town
Their last outing came on Monday in the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest failed to overcome Ipswich Town in 90 minutes – they even had to come from behind. Ipswich Town’s goal came from a corner kick, a header by George Hirst. The equaliser also came from a free-kick routine. The penalty shoot-out didn’t go in favour of Ipswich Town, the Premier League newcomer. This highlights that free kicks and corners should be Ipswich Town’s main weapon, given the lack of a large number of high-quality finishers up front. In the Premier League, they have scored five times from free kicks and corners. It may not seem like much, but considering their low scoring record (26 goals), it’s almost 20%. For example, Arsenal, masters of corner kicks, have a similar ratio.
Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Prediction
Crystal Palace remain favourites, but the absence of Mateta is a massive blow. Without their main attacking outlet, this game could be tighter than expected. Given Ipswich’s strength from free kicks and corners and Crystal Palace’s reduced firepower, a narrow win is the most likely outcome.
