Newcastle vs Ipswich Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Newcastle assumed top spot in the Championship on Tuesday night with a 2-0 win at Barnsley and they are justifying their status as pre-season favourites to win this league. They come into this game following 4 straight victories and are creating plenty of chances and scoring goals, so should be able to make it 5 wins on the spin here.

One of the main reasons for their success of late has been Dwight Gayle. The Magpies started the season with plenty of forwards but there were some doubts as to who would assume the number 9 role. The former Crystal Palace man has made that position his own though and comes into this game with 7 goals in his last 4 matches following another brace in midweek. He seems to be relishing the responsibility of being the team’s main striker and the opportunity to play regularly following a frustrating few years at Selhurst Park. Rafa Benitez has rotated his side a fair bit but daren’t drop the 25 year old on current form. The way he’s playing, backing Gayle to score at any time at 5/6 looks a good shout here as he is sure to get more chances in this one.

Up against an Ipswich side that has found goal-scoring a real problem, it’s hard to see Newcastle slipping up here. The Tractor Boys finally ended a 5 match goal drought in midweek with a 2-0 win at home to Burton but this clearly will be considerably tougher. They are without a few key players and having sold Daryl Murphy to Newcastle in the summer, are a bit short on firepower up front.

Although Newcastle have been conceding a few goals at home, they’ve generally been against better attacking sides than Ipswich and they do boast an impressive overall clean sheet ratio of 53% in all competitions this term. Ipswich are likely to come here with a cautious approach but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to keep Newcastle, who average 2.33 goals per home game in the league so far, quiet for 90 minutes.

Therefore, backing Newcastle to win to nil at 5/4 looks to offer value here.