Ipswich vs West Bromwich Albion Predictions

Ipswich continue their bid to escape relegation on Friday, as the Championship returns to action. West Brom are the visitors to Portman Road, fresh from their victory over Leeds before the international break. That got the away side back into form, and they were in fifth over the course of the international break as a result. Can they continue to climb closer to the automatic promotion spots, or are we going to see a first win for Paul Lambert since he took charge of the Tractor Boys?

The hosts are still stuck to the bottom of the Championship, having landed just a single win in 17 matches. It’s been a dreadful campaign for the Tractor Boys, who are on their way to League One. They’ve fallen five points shy of safety, and are up against it as they look to get out of the bottom three. They have plenty of work to do in order to get their season back on track, and so far Lambert has only overseen a small improvement, having gone from a losing streak to back to back draws.

West Brom will be hoping to restore normal service for Ipswich, as they chase another three points. The Baggies had their own wobble recently, and they looked to be tailing off after pushing into the automatic spots at one point. Darren Moore’s lack of managerial experience does raise questions over their long-term promotion chances, but right now they’re back into the mix. Ending a four game run without a win by thrashing the league leaders 4-1 has to be a good morale booster, so we expect to see the visitors in a good mood for this trip.

The visitors can’t really have asked for a more straightforward fixture. They meet an Ipswich side who have averaged 0.75 points per game at home this term. In addition, the hosts have failed to win all of their home matches so far. The Tractor Boys started the season with five draws on the spin at home, but their last three games here have brought losses to QPR and Middlesbrough. Will West Brom follow that lead?

We expect better for the away side following their win over Leeds, and it’s hard to back against the visitors, considering this clash pits the third worst attack in the league against the best. West Brom have racked up a brilliant 37 goals so far, and Ipswich’s 28 goals conceded is only two short of the league high. With Ipswich losing three of their four meetings with top six sides, we’re backing an away win in this encounter.