Chelsea are on course to finish the year as they travel to Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Monday night.
Blues supporters were forced to endure the unfamiliar feeling of defeat on Boxing Day as Fulham got their first win at Stamford Bridge since 1979 by virtue of Rodrigo Muniz’s last-gasp winner.
Chelsea’s performance and the subsequent result offered an explanation as to why Enzo Maresca has sought to play down his side’s title hopes. Although this was their first league defeat since October, the west Londoners are now ten points behind league leaders Liverpool.
At the other end of the table, Ipswich face an uphill battle to stay in the division. Kieran McKenna’s side are likely to finish 2024 in 19th place after winning just two league games following their return to the top flight so far.
The Tractor Boys barely laid a glove on Arsenal while they went down with a 1-0 loss at the Emirates on Friday night. This will be his first meeting with Chelsea since 2011.
here it is 90 minutes Ipswich vs Chelsea Premier League guide.
Head-to-head record at Ipswich vs Chelsea (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Ipswich |
Chelsea |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 1-0 Ipswich – 27/12/24 |
Chelsea 1-2 Fulham – 26/12/24 |
|
Ipswich 0-4 Newcastle – 21/12/24 |
Everton 0-0 Chelsea – 22/12/24 |
|
Wolves 1-2 Ipswich – 14/12/24 |
Chelsea 5-1 Shamrock Rovers – 19/12/24 |
|
Ipswich 1-2 Bournemouth – 24/12/08 |
Chelsea 2-1 Brentford – 15/12/24 |
|
Ipswich 0-1 Crystal Palace – 03/12/24 |
Astana 1-3 Chelsea – 12/24/12 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Not televised (BBC 5 Live – radio) |
|
united states |
peacock |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
McKenna can welcome back captain Sam Morsy suspension and is likely to return to the Ipswich midfield pivot on Monday night, replacing Kalvin Phillips in the XI.
The hosts will again be without Massimo Luongo through illness, while Axel Tuanzebe and Chiedozie Ogbene have been ruled out. Ogbene will not play again this season due to a long-term knee injury.
George Hirst will hope to return from a knee problem in the new year, while Cieran Slicker is a doubt due to a muscle problem.
Ipswich predicted line-up against Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Muric; Clarke, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Burns, Hutchinson, Szmodics; Delap
Maresca has the squad to rotate on Monday night, but some have questioned whether the Italian trusts Chelsea’s fringe players. He made just one change during the Blues’ Boxing Day defeat.
Christopher Nkunku could replace Nicolas Jackson up top given the latter’s dip in form, while Joao Felix will hope for a bigger role on Monday after struggling to feature since impressing at Southampton earlier this month.
Chelsea are without Mykhailo Mudryk to follow their lead positive drug testwhile Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Carney Chukwuemeka remain sidelined. Reece James is back in training and closing in on another comeback.
Chelsea predicted line-up against Ipswich (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gust, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernández; Madueke, Palmer, Felix; Nkunku.
A naive and immature Chelsea were on display on Christmas Day, with their struggles against close defenses coming to the fore over the past week. Given how Ipswich set up at the Emirates on Friday, the Blues are likely to face another deep back line on Monday.
While this would appear to be a clever ploy by McKenna, it does represent a departure from the ideals that have brought the Suffolk side to this position. His pressure has allowed them to be competitive in the top flight this term, so the Ipswich boss should not change course entirely.
The Tractor Boys have acquitted themselves well this term, but the Premier League the schedule is starting to take its toll on a reduced team. It will take a big effort for Ipswich to take points away from the Blues again.
