Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez
Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez
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In their last four Premier League meetings with Liverpool, Ipswich Town have been beaten four times, have conceded 17 goals and have scored once.
That one goal, from Jacob Greaves, came in the 90th minute of a 4-1 loss at Anfield in January, 2025.
Liverpool have not been beaten at Portman Road since 1986 when second-half goals from Mich D’Avray and Kevin Wilson won it for Bobby Ferguson’s side after Ronnie Whelan had opened the scoring just before the break.
The current Ipswich Town team had an encouraging start to the season, beating Sunderland by the odd goal in three but were thumped 5-2 at Old Trafford.
Manchester United attempted 33 shots in that game. A bizarre refereeing/VAR decision gifted United the goal that took them 2-1 ahead but they could have scored ten.
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That is why Liverpool are strong odds-on to record their first Premier League victory of the season in their second away fixture.
And considering Liverpool’s attacking options and the vulnerability shown by Gary O’Neil’s team against United, those odds of around 1/2 are probably, if anything, quite generous.
But in only his third Premier League match in charge of Liverpool, this is a real test for Andoni Iraola.
At this stage of the season, it is not a must-win, of course. But it goes without saying that if Liverpool were to complete opening fixtures against Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich without a victory, it would not be an ideal start for Iraola.
There is considerable intrigue in the Friday night game at Portman Road, not least because it could expose the flaws in Liverpool’s summer recruitment policy.
Even if Liverpool win, this contest could show that failing to recruit high-quality cover in the full-back areas was a serious mis-step.
I was at Old Trafford last Sunday and before United luckily took the lead early in the second half, Ipswich were a real threat on the flanks.
Slightly bizarrely, some people thought Liverpool had signed Abdul Fatawu from Ghanaian club Steadfast FC in the summer of 2021.
It turned out they hadn’t. Fatawu ended up at Sporting Lisbon before moving to Leicester City. Ipswich signed him for £20million in this latest transfer window.
He is an exciting player, make no mistake. His assist for Ipswich’s opening goal at Old Trafford was unfairly used as a stick with which to beat Luke Shaw.
The veteran United full-back later admitted he was angry with himself for being beaten so easily by Fatawu, but the truth is that the burst of skill and pace would have given any elite left-back trouble.
And on the other flank, Daizen Maeda gave Diogo Dalot some serious bother, missing one great chance after outpacing his opponent.
This is why the game at Portman Road will be a real examination of Iraola’s tactical acumen. It is fair to say Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong have not had the most convincing starts to this Premier League season. They will be in the critical spotlight.
Liverpool also failed to add a defensive midfielder to their ranks and Julio Enciso will give them an examination in that area.
With Bradley Barcola keen to impress, Liverpool should have too much for the promoted side.
But this is going to be a much greater examination of this Liverpool squad’s credentials - and Iraola’s credentials - than many would imagine.