The Arne Slot era at Liverpool begins at Portman Road at Saturday lunchtime, with their hosts Ipswich Town getting their first taste of top-flight football since 2002.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich have been on an upward trajectory over the last two seasons, achieving the incredible feat of back-to-back promotions from League One into the Premier League.
Liverpool are yet to make a first-team signing but there’s already been a monumental change in the dugout. Slot has big shoes to fill as the successor to Jurgen Klopp’s throne, a post he held for nine successful years.
Ipswich announced two transfers earlier today. The Championship’s top goalscorer from 2023/24, Sammie Szmodics, from Blackburn Rovers and a loan move for Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips. Both signings should be registered in time for the season opener.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool – Match Preview
Form (Pre-season)
Liverpool: WWWWD
This new beginning under Arne Slot is filled with optimism and promise after some encouraging friendly showings.
The club’s tour of the United States included wins over Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester United, while a 4-1 thrashing of Sevilla on home soil encouraged those inside Anfield. Liverpool won four of their five pre-season games, drawing the other, and recorded three clean sheets.
Arne ???????? pic.twitter.com/JBIeFbagLs
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 15, 2024
Football is a results-based business and the Reds were unbeaten in pre-season, a stat that bodes well for the upcoming campaign
Ipswich: WLWW
A short pre-season campaign for Kieran McKenna’s team who have faced just four sides during their summer schedule.
The first fixture back saw Ipswich beat Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 courtesy of a Sam Morsy goal, in what has become a familiar scoreline for The Tractor Boys this summer.
A defeat to German outfit Dusseldorf followed, before Ipswich bounced back with 1-0 wins over Hoffenheim and Nice.
It’s the number 8️⃣ shirt for KP. ✨ pic.twitter.com/TAfLUlOPmo
— IPSWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) August 16, 2024
Last meeting
Liverpool 1-1 Ipswich town (5-4 pens), League Cup fourth round, December 4th 2002
Just months after Liverpool’s 5-0 win over Ipswich relegated The Tractor Boys from the Premier League, the teams met again in the League Cup. Gerard Houllier’s side struggled against their second-tier opponents, however, and required an El-Hadji Diouf penalty to cancel out Tommy Miller’s opener.
The tie went to a shootout and it was Diouf again who took centre stage. The Senegal striker scored the winning spot-kick after Jamie Clapham’s miss for Ipswich. Liverpool went on to win the trophy, beating Manchester United 2-0 in the final.
Predicted Lineups:
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Ipswich Town: Muric; Johnson, Tuanzebe, Edmundson, Greaves, Davis; Luongo, Morsy; Hutchinson, Harness, Delap.
Who is the referee?
Tim Robinson.
What channel is Ipswich vs Liverpool on?
This fixture is available to watch on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.
What time is kick-off?
Saturday 17th August, 12:30 BST
Odds
Ipswich Town – 15/2
Draw – 9/2
Liverpool – 1/3
Read – Eight talking points ahead of the Premier League weekend
See more – Slot unfazed by lack of Liverpool transfers this summer
