Ipswich Town welcome Arsenal to Portman Road on Tuesday night as both sides look to book a place in the fourth round draw for the Carabao Cup.
Ipswich have made a mixed start to life back in the Premier League, taking six points from their opening four matches. They followed a 2-1 win over Sunderland with a 5-2 defeat at Manchester United and a 2-0 home loss to Liverpool, before beating Crystal Palace 3-2 on Saturday.
Arsenal have enjoyed a perfect start to the campaign and remain unbeaten in all competitions.
The Gunners have won all five of their matches, including a 1-0 Champions League victory over Napoli and Saturday’s 2-0 win at Sunderland.
However, Mikel Arteta is expected to make significant changes at Portman Road as Arsenal deal with a busy run of fixtures. Ipswich will also rotate, making this an interesting test of the two squads’ depth.
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What are the best picks for Ipswich vs Arsenal?
Arsenal to win
Arsenal are the side I expect to come through this tie, even with Arteta making changes.
The Gunners have won all five of their matches this season and have conceded just once in that run. Their squad depth should allow Arteta to make several changes without dramatically reducing the quality available.
Ipswich have already shown they can cause problems at Portman Road, but Arsenal should have enough control and attacking quality to progress.
I am backing the visitors to continue their perfect start to the season.
Viktor Gyökeres to score
This could be the ideal opportunity for Gyökeres to make his mark this season.
The striker has had limited Premier League minutes so far, while Arteta is expected to rotate his attacking options for this cup tie.
Gyökeres is predicted to start and has already shown his goalscoring ability at Arsenal and internationally.
He scored 14 Premier League goals last season and also found the net in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup run.
With more minutes expected here, I like him to get on the scoresheet.
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Arsenal over 1.5 team goals
I also like Arsenal to score at least twice at Portman Road.
Ipswich have conceded seven goals across their last three Premier League matches, including five at Manchester United and two against Liverpool.
They have scored seven themselves, so this should not necessarily be a one-way game.
However, Arsenal’s attacking depth gives them plenty of ways to cause problems, even if Saka, Ødegaard and several other regular starters are rested.
If the Gunners find their rhythm, I can see them scoring twice or more.
Where can I watch Ipswich vs Arsenal?
Ipswich vs Arsenal kicks off at 8pm BST on Tuesday, September 15 at Portman Road.
The Carabao Cup third-round tie will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports+, with coverage also available through the Sky Sports app and NOW.
What have the managers said?
Gary O’Neil
Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil has stressed his faith in the squad ahead of the visit of Arsenal, with rotation expected after Saturday’s win at Crystal Palace.
“Whoever I pick, I have 100 percent faith that they are ready and they’re going to represent what we do and how we go about it.”
O’Neil has a strong squad available to him and will be looking for another positive performance after Ipswich’s dramatic 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his side’s ability to overcome a difficult Sunderland test on Saturday, with the Gunners winning 2-0 at the Stadium of Light.
“We had to overcome a really tough opponent in a difficult place.”
Arteta also highlighted the physical and direct approach of Sunderland, but Arsenal ultimately secured another victory to maintain their perfect start to the campaign.
What is Ipswich’s predicted team?
(4-2-3-1) Scherpen; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Lukić, Palacios; Fatawu, Enciso, Clarke; Emersonn.
Injured: Azor Matusiwa, Jack Taylor.
Doubt: Jaden Philogene-Bidace.
Ipswich are expected to make changes following Saturday’s win at Crystal Palace, with O’Neil keen to make use of the depth he has built into his squad.
The hosts have shown plenty of attacking threat this season, but keeping Arsenal quiet will be a much tougher challenge.
What is Arsenal’s predicted team?
(4-2-3-1) Kepa Arrizabalaga; Marli Salmon, Ezri Konsa, Piero Hincapié, Myles Lewis-Skelly; Zubimendi, Merino; Max Dowman, Eze, Madueke; Gyökeres.
Injured: Ben White, William Saliba.
Doubts: Cristhian Mosquera, Jurriën Timber.
Arsenal are expected to rotate heavily, with Kepa, Zubimendi, Merino, Madueke and Gyökeres among those pushing for starts.
The cup tie should also provide another opportunity for some of Arsenal’s younger players, with Max Dowman and Marli Salmon both in contention.
Score prediction: Ipswich 1-3 Arsenal
I expect Ipswich to make life uncomfortable for Arsenal at times, particularly with Portman Road behind them.
However, the Gunners have too much quality across their squad and should eventually take control. I can see Ipswich scoring, but Arsenal should have enough to win comfortably and reach the fourth round.
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