Premier League,
Round 2
Manchester United
MUN
Ipswich
IPS
-
Venue
- Old Trafford
-
Referee
- C. Pawson
Man United v Ipswich Premier League preview
Manchester United will welcome Ipswich to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon as they look to respond to their disappointing opening-day defeat.
The Red Devils were beaten 2-0 by newly promoted Hull City last weekend, while Ipswich marked their return to the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Sunderland.
Hull took the lead after 17 minutes when Semi Ajayi followed up after Senne Lammens had tipped Oli McBurnie’s effort onto the post. Club-record signing Nobel Mendy then doubled the hosts’ advantage by heading in Regan Slater’s free-kick on his debut.
The defeat was the first time United had lost to a promoted side on the opening day of a Premier League season, ending a run of 13 matches without defeat.
Carrick’s side also struggled to turn 21 attempts into clear-cut chances and will need to be far more effective in the final third if they are to avoid another setback on Saturday.
Ipswich, meanwhile, could hardly have asked for a better start to their return to the top flight.
Gary O’Neil’s side secured a dramatic 2-1 win over Sunderland last weekend, with Jack Clarke coming off the bench to score a 90th-minute winner against his former club.
The Tractor Boys were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2024-25 season after finishing 19th with 22 points, but they bounced straight back under Kieran McKenna by finishing second in the Championship with 84 points.
McKenna subsequently stepped away from management during the summer, with Ipswich appointing former Wolves and Strasbourg boss O’Neil as his replacement.
The new manager was handed significant backing in the transfer market, with Ipswich spending more than £100m as they added seven new players to their squad.
That investment immediately paid off as the newcomers helped Ipswich claim their first Premier League victory of the season. During their previous spell in the division, they had to wait until November to record their first win.
Manchester United v Ipswich team news
Manchester United have several players unavailable heading into their first home game of the season.
New signing Carlos Baleba will have to wait for his debut after suffering an ankle injury during Brighton’s pre-season training camp in Austria.
Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte are also expected to miss Saturday’s fixture, with Ugarte potentially facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Carrick has no fresh injury concerns following the defeat to Hull but could still make changes to his starting XI. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo are among those pushing for a recall.
Ipswich made nine changes for their midweek EFL Cup victory over Leicester, so further alterations are expected at Old Trafford.
Dara O’Shea was the only defender to retain his place against Leicester and should continue in the back four, while Nunez is also expected to start after scoring twice in midweek.
Clarke could be rewarded for his late winner against Sunderland with a starting place, potentially at the expense of Abdul Fatawu.
Ipswich have relatively few injury concerns, although Azor Matusiwa and Florentino Luis remain unavailable. Luis is still waiting to make his debut for the club.
Man United v Ipswich predicted line ups
Manchester United possible starting lineup: Lammens; Mazraoui, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Mainoo, Santos; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Rashford; Cunha
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup: Scherpen; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis; Nunez, Lukic; Clarke, Enciso, Maeda; Emersonn
ℹ️ Official lineups are not available yet. They are usually announced 20–40 minutes before kickoff, depending on the competition.
Man United v Ipswich stats, Premier League form
- United are unbeaten in their last eight home league games against Ipswich (W6 D2), winning the last four by an aggregate score of 18-2
- Since a 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich in May 1984 (2-1), United have gone 400 home league games without defeat when leading at half-time (W365 D35)
- Having faced Hull on matchday one, United are the first team to face promoted sides in both of their opening two games of a Premier League season since Bournemouth in 2019/20 (Sheffield United, Aston Villa)
- This is the third time the Red Devils have played two opening games against teams to have come up in the top flight, along with 2001/02 (Fulham, Blackburn Rovers) and 2009/10 (Birmingham City, Burnley)
- Despite coming on at half-time, no United player created more chances against Hull on matchday one than Marcus Rashford (4) – only Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers created more across the Premier League’s opening matchday (5)
- Michael Carrick is winless in all three of his Premier League meetings with newly promoted clubs (D1 L2)
- As United boss, Carrick has a 0.33 points per game record against promoted teams, compared to 2.47 points per game (P17 W13 D3 L1) against non-promoted teams
- Carrick’s team could become the fourth top-flight side ever to lose their first two games of a season against newly promoted clubs – the others are Everton in 1902/03, Sheffield United in 1929/30 and Bristol City in 1977/78
- Ipswich are winless in their last seven Premier League games against Man Utd (D2 L5) since a 3-2 home win in September 1994, having started the run with a 9-0 defeat at Old Trafford in March 1995
- They could start a top-flight season with two wins in a row for a fourth time, also doing so in 1974/75 (finished third), 1980/81 (second) and 1993/94 (19th)
- Emersonn scored on his Premier League debut for Ipswich in their win over Sunderland, with the last player to score in his first two appearances in the competition for the Tractor Boys being Adam Tanner in January 1995
Where to watch Man United v Ipswich: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:30 BST (11:30 ET / 08:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £27.99 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Manchester United v Ipswich Premier League prediction
Match Prediction
Manchester United
Ipswich
Manchester United were well below their best against Hull and will need to improve considerably if they are to avoid another surprise result.
Ipswich have already shown that they can compete after their impressive win over Sunderland, but United should have enough quality to respond in front of their home supporters.
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