**Ipswich Town return to Merseyside on Saturday looking rather different to the side Everton faced at Goodison Park little more than a year ago.**
They are back in the Premier League following one season in the Championship, Kieran McKenna has gone, and Gary O’Neil is now in charge of a squad rebuilt at considerable expense over the summer.
So what can [Everton](https://readeverton.com/) expect from Saturday’s visitors to the Hill Dickinson?
O’Neil replaced McKenna in June after leaving Strasbourg, signing a three-year deal at Portman Road. He arrived with Premier League experience from Bournemouth and Wolves and was then backed heavily in the transfer market.
Ipswich made 14 summer signings, with the Guardian putting their spending at a record £190m for a promoted club. Julio Enciso, Emersonn, Abdul Fatawu, Exequiel Palacios, Florentino Luis, Daizen Maeda and former Fulham pair Issa Diop and Sasa Lukic were among the arrivals, while Zian Flemming joined late in the window.
It is effectively a new version of Ipswich rather than simply the Championship side having another crack at the Premier League.
Two wins and two defeats from four league games is a decent return. Ipswich opened by beating Sunderland 2-1, lost 5-2 at Manchester United and 2-0 against Liverpool, then produced their best result so far by winning 3-2 at Crystal Palace last weekend.
They went behind at Selhurst Park before goals from Emersonn and Leif Davis turned the game around. Palace, who had Axel Disasi sent off, made it 2-2 before Flemming struck the winner in the 90th minute.
There was another reminder of Ipswich’s defensive vulnerability on Tuesday night, however, when Arsenal won 4-2 at Portman Road in the Carabao Cup.
Goals, quite possibly. O’Neil has been clear about the way he wants his side to play. Speaking after the Palace win, he said Ipswich have to be able to “attack and be a threat”, accepting that approach can sometimes produce a 3-2 – or the 5-2 defeat they suffered at Old Trafford – rather than a cagey 1-0.
Their results back him up. Ipswich have scored seven and conceded nine in four Premier League games, while their last five matches in all competitions have produced 25 goals.
Leif Davis is one Everton will need to watch. The left-back has two goals and an assist from his last three Premier League appearances, while Emersonn scored and assisted at Palace and Flemming made an immediate impact with the winner.
Ipswich are yet to keep a Premier League clean sheet this season and have conceded 11 goals in their last four games in all competitions, so there should be opportunities for Everton.
But any Evertonian expecting a routine afternoon because the visitors have only just come up may be in for a surprise. Ipswich have spent heavily, already have two Premier League wins on the board and showed at Palace that they can recover from falling behind and win away from home.
They will also come to the Hill Dickinson prepared to attack rather than simply dig in and hope for the best.
There are weaknesses there for Everton to exploit. There is also more than enough about O’Neil’s side to make this a tricky afternoon if the Blues are not at it.
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