Ipswich Town welcome Liverpool to Portman Road on Friday for a Premier League fixture pitting two sides yet to hit their stride this season against one another, with Gary O’Neil’s hosts sitting 12th and Andoni Iraola’s still-winless Reds down in 13th.
There’s a shared thread between the two dugouts. Iraola replaced O’Neil as Bournemouth head coach back in June 2023, and the pair now find themselves in opposite technical areas for the first time as Premier League managers of new clubs.
O’Neil took permanent charge at Portman Road in June this year, succeeding Kieran McKenna, who stepped down after guiding Ipswich back to the top flight, while Iraola replaced Arne Slot at Anfield over the summer following three seasons at Bournemouth.
Both have had mixed returns to management duty so far: O’Neil’s side beat Sunderland on the opening weekend before being thrashed 5-2 at Manchester United, while Iraola has overseen back-to-back 2-2 draws against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool did belatedly complete a marquee signing before the deadline, with £123m arrival Bradley Barcola in contention to make his debut from the bench.
Ipswich Town vs Liverpool – Match preview and team news
Date: Friday, 4 September 2026
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Venue: Portman Road
Referee: Darren England
Last meeting: Liverpool 4-1 Ipswich Town (Premier League, 25 January 2025)
Team news
Ipswich Town
Azor Matusiwa, Jack Taylor and Jaden Philogene are all sidelined, though Gary O’Neil confirmed this week that Emersonn has recovered from the knee injury that forced him off against Manchester United and is available. Florentino Luis is also back in contention having overcome a calf issue. Deadline-day signing Zian Flemming could feature after his £20m move from Burnley, with O’Neil weighing up a false-nine role for Julio Enciso or a more direct approach with two strikers.
Liverpool
Liverpool remain without Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni, all sidelined through injury. New signing Bradley Barcola trained fully this week following his move from Paris Saint-Germain and is available, though Andoni Iraola suggested a start is unlikely given his lack of pre-season minutes. Dominik Szoboszlai showed his versatility by covering at right-back in the closing stages against Nottingham Forest.
Form
Ipswich Town
Ipswich’s return to the Premier League has produced entertaining, error-strewn results. Jack Clarke’s stoppage-time winner earned a 2-1 opening-day victory over Sunderland, before a much-changed defensive picture unravelled at Old Trafford, where Bruno Fernandes’ hat-trick and a Jacob Greaves own goal contributed to a 5-2 defeat. Even so, O’Neil’s side head into Friday on the back of six wins from their last seven games in all competitions, including a 3-1 EFL Cup win over Leicester City.
Liverpool
Liverpool arrive looking to end a winless run stretching back to April, having taken just two points from their opening two matches this season. Iraola’s side have drawn 2-2 with both Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, with Victor Munoz’s stoppage-time leveller against Forest, on his first competitive start, the standout moment. The Reds are yet to keep a clean sheet this season.
Predicted lineups
Ipswich Town predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Scherpen; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Nunez, Lukic; Fatawu, Enciso, Maeda; Emersonn
Liverpool predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Gakpo, Wirtz, Munoz; Isak
How to watch Ipswich Town vs Liverpool?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting at 7pm BST ahead of an 8pm kick-off.
Read more – Arsenal’s deadline-day Lautaro Martinez bid turned down by Inter
See also – Iraola confirms Barcola in line for Liverpool debut against Ipswich