Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Prediction - Premier League Fixtures

Josh Ingram is on hand to look at a significant game for the visitors who head to Selhurst Park in this Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town prediction betting preview. If the Tractor Boys have any aspirations of closing the gap to Wolves, they need to start picking up points sooner rather than later. Selhurst Park is not as tough a place to go as it once was; Palace’s home form is the reason they are not in the mix for European football. However, the hosts should be able to exploit the second worst defence in the league, who are also really poor on their travels, picking up just ten points in 2024/25.

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Prediction: The Eagles to score at will

England, Premier League, Saturday, March 8th, 15:00 (UK)

Since Palace’s 1-0 win at Selhurst Park against Tottenham on the 27th of October, the table from that point on would have them 4th in the Premier League; their rotten run at the start of the season could well explain why they won’t be fighting higher up the table for European football. In recent weeks, Glasner’s side has been red hot with big wins away at Manchester United and Fulham. The away form is what is continuing to push them up the table, as they have the fourth-best record across the division at the moment. In the past couple of weeks, they have achieved back-to-back wins at Selhurst Park with an impressive 4-1 vs Villa and progressed to the Quarter Final of the FA Cup in a win against South London rivals Millwall.

Ipswich Town impressed me with the level of performance they showed in their defeat on penalties to Nottingham Forest. They might not have shipped so many goals if they had defended so resolutely all season. Some in Tractor Boys’ circles would put the blame at Muric’s door with his antics throughout the course of the season. However, as a unit, they concede far too many chances. 

When analysing the numbers for Ipswich, it doesn’t make good reading. They average 2.11 goals conceded per90. A defence conceding a goal every 43 minutes on average has no chance of staying in the Premier League. On their travels, in five of their 13 matches, Ipswich have conceded at least three goals. In total, Ipswich have been breached three or more times this season on eight occasions. Seven of those eight games saw Ipswich concede four or more goals. Their xG against per game is 1.95, and they are the joint worst in the league for the highest xG per shot average at 0.13 per shot. They are second-worst behind Southampton in almost every defensive metric.

The only issue in backing this Palace goal angle is the obvious absence of their main man. Jean-Phillipe Mateta was on the receiving end of a horror challenge by Millwall’s keeper. Now Nketiah will get his chance. The former Arsenal man showed his class, albeit against ten men, with a beautiful header; he will be chomping at the bit to grab some goals in this one. Despite the big Frenchman missing on the weekend, Palace should have more than enough in forward areas, as they have regularly shown in goals scored from all areas of the team.

Palace have scored at least twice 11 times in the Premier League this season but have only managed to go one step further twice. This came away at Brighton in December and in the most recent league game at home to Villa. If their goal-scoring starts to pick up, we might see a similar end to the season as we did in 2023/24. In their last eight fixtures, Crystal Palace have scored three or more on four occasions. Could they be finding that similar goal-scoring hot streak once again under Glasner?

• Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Prediction: Crystal Palace over 2.5 goals (TRACKED BET) 
• Best Odds: 2.62
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 10/10 (TRACKED BET) 

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Prediction odds via bet365 as at 12:00, March 5th, 2025. Odds may now differ.

Mateta missing after horror clash and A litany of Injuries for the Tractor Boys

The main issue for Oliver Glasner to solve is the absence of Jean-Phillipe Mateta. He suffered a “severe laceration”, resulting in 25 stitches. It’s unknown when he will return, but he is ruled out for this one. The Frenchman was lucky it wasn’t a more severe injury, given how much force he got hit with. Glasner also had to deal with Will Hughes picking up a ban for an accumulation of yellow cards; he became only the second player to reach the 10-card threshold for the ban this season. This will mean that Jefferson Lerma will likely slot in alongside the very talented Adam Wharton, who has been showing his class since his return from injury. Apart from that, the back five should be unchanged, which has been creating real consistency with how well they have been defending. 

Connor Chaplin and Sammie Szmodics have both had a recurrence of previous injuries they were struggling with; Chaplin’s knee and Szomidic’s ankle will keep them both out for an unknown period of time. Mckenna also has to deal with the fallout from the exhausting effort they put in against Forest; Burgess and Tuanzebe were both forced off at halftime and look set to be out for this week at least. It’s not clear if Kalvin Phliips is back for this after his knock. Julio Ensico, Christian Walton and Omari Hutchinson are three players out for at least another month. The squad is looking a little stretched for Mckenna to pick from at a time when they desperately need to be picking up points. 

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Eze, Nketiah

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Godfrey, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Cajuste, Morsy, Philogene-Bidace, Hirst, Clarke; Delap

Match Stats: Rotten Records for both teams

• Palace were the winners in the earlier meeting this season at Portman Road. Jean-Philipe Mateta scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Eagles. 
• Palace have a poor record at home this season, collecting just 14 points from a possible 42, meaning they have the 5th worst home record. Ipswich Town have collected just 10 points from a possible 39, meaning they have the third-worst away record. 
• Daniel Munoz scored once again in their clash against Millwall in the FA Cup. In the Premier League, the Colombian already had seven goals and assists from Wingback. 

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