Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest will be desperate for three points when they lock horns at Portman Road on Saturday.
The international break is nearly upon us, but before that, the 2024/25 Premier League season will witness Gameweek 29. The latest round of fixtures will kick off on Saturday, with the action on the day starting with four simultaneous matches, including Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest at Portman Road.
Ipswich Town showed a lot of resilience in the first quarter of the 2024/25 Premier League season but could not follow up on that after a decent start to the ongoing campaign. However, the Tractor Boys have won only two of their last 17 top-flight outings and none of the nine most recent clashes. The poor run has left Kieran McKenna’s men six points behind 17th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest might be the biggest surprise package of the 2024/25 season. The Tricky Trees have stood toe-to-toe with all Premier League clubs irrespective of their stature, with their latest triumphant result coming against Manchester City last weekend. The result helped Nuno Espirito Santo’s men strengthen their grip on the third spot, and they will go into the international break in the top four.
The reverse fixture saw Nottingham Forest eke a narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, with Chris Wood scoring the only goal. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Ipswich Town
Kieran McKenna has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Ipswich Town manager will be bereft of the services of six first-team players vs Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Sammie Szmodics is the most notable absentee due to an ankle injury that will keep him out until May. The Republic of Ireland international accompanies Arijanet Muric (shoulder), Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring), Conor Chaplin (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (achilles), and Wes Burns (knee) on the sidelines.
Alex Palmer will take his spot between the sticks, with Ipswich Town lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The backline should feature Dara O’Shea, Luke Woolfender, Jacob Greaves, and Leif Davis.
As for the midfield unit, Kalvin Phillips should line up alongside Jens Cajuste in the double pivot, with Samy Morsy missing out. Julio Enciso will likely reprise the no. 10 role, with Omari Hutchinson and Jaden Philogene being the two wide attackers. Finally, Liam Delap will lead the line for Ipswich Town against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Palmer; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Cajuste, Phillips; Hutchinson, Enciso, Philogene; Delap
Nottingham Forest
Like his counterpart in the Ipswich Town dugout, Nuno Espirito Santo has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Portman Road. The Nottingham Forest manager will be without only one first-team player on Saturday, with Carlos Miguel recovering from a hamstring injury.
Matz Sels is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Nottingham Forest lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Ipswich Town on Saturday. The backline should feature Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, and Neco Williams.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez in the double pivot. Morgan Gibbs-White will reprise the no. 10 role, with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi being the two wide attackers. Finally, Chris Wood will spearhead the Nottingham Forest attack against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Key Stats
Ipswich Town have lost only one of their last seven home league games vs Nottingham Forest (W4 D2). Saturday’s clash will be the first time they will host the Tricky Trees in the top flight since a 1-0 loss in August 1994. Forest will aim to complete the league double over Ipswich for the first time since 2016/17 in the EFL Championship. They also won both meetings with the Tractor Boys the last time they met in the Premier League (1994/95, with Forest finishing third and Ipswich suffering relegation).
Ipswich Town have not won their 14 most recent Premier League games against sides in the top three of the table since a 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in January 1995 (D2 L12). Those 12 defeats have come by an aggregate score of 40-3.
Between March 1996 and the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Nottingham Forest won no Premier League game against promoted sides (D9 L6). Since the start of last season, they are unbeaten in ten matches (W7 D3), winning the six most recent ties.
Ipswich Town are the only side in England’s top-four tiers without a league win in 2025 (D2 L7). It is their longest run without a league victory from the start of a calendar year in their history. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have lost their last three Premier League away games, more than they had in their previous 13 on the road (W9 D2 L2).
Only Arsenal (38) have faced fewer big chances in the Premier League this season than Nottingham Forest (46). On the other hand, only Southampton (46) and Leicester City (47) have created fewer big chances than Ipswich Town (49).
Player to Watch
Morgan Gibbs-White
Embed from Getty Images
While Chris Wood and Liam Delap were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Morgan Gibbs-White as our Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League game between Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest at Portman Road. The English playmaker has been on a roll in the last few weeks, and he will aim to continue that run this weekend.
Gibbs-White’s assist for Callum Hudson-Odoi against Manchester City last week took him level with Bryan Roy for Premier League goal involvements for Nottingham Forest (39 – 15 goals, 24 assists). Only Ian Woan (44) has had a hand in more for the Tricky Trees. The Englishman will aim to continue his excellent run and inch closer to Woan’s tally as he continues to garner attention from Premier League bigwigs.
Prediction
Ipswich Town 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Saturday’s match at Portman Road features a team with one of the best defensive records in the Premier League and a side with among the worst creative numbers in the top flight this term. So, it will not be surprising to see the home side struggling to get past Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo this weekend.
In addition, Morgan Gibbs-White has been on fire in the last few weeks, with the English playmaker effortlessly pulling the strings in the final third. Expect Gibbs-White and Chris Wood to combine in the final third and guide Nottingham Forest to another crucial victory. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Nuno Espirito and his charges.