Julen Lopetegui says he expects to be under pressure after West Ham's recent struggles at home but hopes to put that right against Ipswich Town.

West Ham have won just one of their six Premier League matches so far, away to Crystal Palace, but have lost all three of their home fixtures, conceding eight goals and scoring twice.

Having failed to win any of their last four in the league, along with a heavy 5-1 defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup before last week's draw at Brentford, Lopetegui is coming under a little pressure already.

However, the Spaniard is not fazed by that, explaining his team are working hard to change their fortunes at the London Stadium.

"Always it's very important to win, and that's why we work hard every day. We want to win for sure," Lopetegui said.

"Ipswich are a good team, and all our thoughts are on Saturday.

"Our job is to live under pressure, and it is normal because we haven't won at home yet. That's why we are working, to try and win on Saturday against Ipswich."

Meanwhile, the Tractor Boys are still searching for their first win since being promoted back to the top-flight.

There is reason to be optimistic though, as Ipswich have drawn each of their last four outings, including 2-2 against Aston Villa last weekend.

Kieran McKenna is expecting another tough test but knows his players will show their competitiveness once again.

"I know it is another big game, another big challenge and one to look forward to," McKenna said.

"Let's hope we can make it really competitive. I don't think there [will be] many weeks this year where we are going to blow teams out of the water, so we need to work really, really hard to be competitive.

"We hope we can be really clinical in our execution when we have our moments and defend their moments well to give ourselves a chance to get a result."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

West Ham – Tomas Soucek

Tomas Soucek netted his 29th Premier League goal for West Ham United in their 1-1 draw with Brentford, overtaking Milan Baros (28) into second place for the top Czechia scorers in Premier League history.

He is now only behind Patrik Berger (38 goals), a record he will be keen to start chasing down.

Ipswich Town – Sam Morsy

No player has more Premier League yellow cards this season than Ipswich midfielder Sam Morsy (four) and was perhaps lucky not to receive a second against Aston Villa last weekend.

Since his Ipswich league debut in September 2021, only one player has more yellow cards in the league in England's top four tiers than Morsy's total of 40, but given his importance to McKenna's side, the manager will be hoping he can avoid another.

MATCH PREDICTION: WEST HAM WIN

West Ham have lost just one of their eight Premier League meetings with Ipswich (W3 D4), a 1-0 home loss in March 2001. Their last such meeting was a 3-1 victory for the Hammers in March 2002.

However, Ipswich won their last two league meetings with West Ham, beating them 1-0 away and 5-1 at home in the 2011-12 Championship campaign.

West Ham have lost their three home Premier League games this season, the first time they have started a season with three home defeats. The Hammers have not suffered four defeats in a row in the top-flight at the London Stadium since the final four home matches of Manuel Pellegrini's reign in November-December 2019.

Indeed, West Ham have won just five points in their opening six Premier League matches this season (W1 D2 L3), the fifth time in the last nine seasons they have had five or fewer points at this stage of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Ipswich are winless in all six Premier League games this season (D2 L4), only once starting a top-flight season with a longer winless start, in 1969-70 (seven games).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

West Ham – 51.3%

Draw – 23.8%

Ipswich Town – 24.9%

Kieran McKenna believes Ipswich Town can take "so many positives" from their 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

The Tractor Boys, who are back in the Premier League after 22 years away, extended their unbeaten league streak to four matches, after Liam Delap's strike secured a share of the spoils at Portman Road.

Delap had given Ipswich an eighth-minute lead, but goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins saw Villa turn the match on its head just after the half-hour mark.

Nevertheless, the hosts dug deep with Delap levelling in the 72nd minute to secure their fourth successive draw, which moves them out of the relegation zone to 15th place.

And McKenna was thrilled with the character his players demonstrated.

"I think we created the better chances in the game, but when you come back from 2-1 down, a point is a good result," he said. "The team, at 2-1 down, never dropped their heads, and we were always competitive in the game.

"I thought the game had a really good flow to it with two good sides. To be competing with a team who have been together for three years with a top manager, I think there are so many positives to take for us.

"Four games unbeaten doesn't come easily in the Premier League. It is a fantastic first step, and we still feel there is a lot of improvement to come."

Villa missed the chance to move level on points with leaders Liverpool and, though disappointed with the result, Unai Emery acknowledged it was an accurate reflection on the balance of play.

"We controlled the first half better than the second half," he said. "We started the first half very well; we came back, and we controlled the game really well. But in the second half, they were pushing.

"We had our chances, but we conceded more than normal, and we didn't control things like we did in the first half. I am not happy with the point, but I have to accept it because I think it is fair."

"They always put a lot of pressure on us, and we couldn't really implement our game plan," Watkins added. "We didn't get it right in the final third. We could have been more ruthless - myself included.

"They kept putting pressure on us. They're here at home; they made runs in behind and we grinded the result out in the end."

Liam Delap scored twice as Premier League newcomers Ipswich Town claimed a confidence-boosting 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday.

Villa looked set to forge another comeback win when Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins propelled them into the lead.

But Delap, who had opened the scoring in the eighth minute at Portman Road, had other ideas.

At the end of a rapid counter-attack, Delap brilliantly bamboozled Diego Carlos before firing a left-footed effort into the bottom-right corner in the 72nd minute.

It might have been a hat-trick for Delap if not for Emiliano Martinez, who had made a fantastic save in a one-v-one with Ipswich's forward in the first half.

Pau Torres preserved a point for Villa with a brilliant last-ditch block from Wes Burns, while both goalkeepers were also called into action – by Ross Barkley and Jack Taylor respectively – late on.

Data Debrief: Delap's double delight

Delap became the first Ipswich player to score a double in a Premier League match since Marcus Bent in March 2002 (v Newcastle United), and the youngest to do so in the competition for the Tractor Boys, at the age of 21 years and 234 days.

It was also his first career double in a league match.

At the opposite end, Watkins – who headed in from a Leon Bailey cross after teeing up Rogers' equaliser – continued his fine form in front of goal. The England striker has now scored and assisted in eight Premier League matches in his career, which is the joint-most of any player for Villa (matching Dwight Yorke and Gabriel Agbonlahor). 

Unai Emery is not satisfied with Aston Villa's performance levels despite their impressive start to the Premier League season, demanding a step up when they go to Ipswich Town.

Villa have won four of their five Premier League games this season to sit third in the table, just one point adrift of pacesetters Manchester City.

Emery's team fought back to beat Midlands rivals Wolves 3-1 last week before overcoming Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup in midweek, while they also started their Champions League campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win at Young Boys.

Despite seeing his team win three straight Premier League games ahead of their trip to Portman Road, Emery wants more.

"Ipswich will be different but difficult, like the match before. We are trying to build a team. We have to try to get stronger tactically with our players," Emery said.

"We want to increase our levels individually and collectively through them and the process has been positive because we are getting points in this way.

"But of course, we have to improve a lot of things. The match we played against Wolverhampton was very good to analyse deeply how we were playing.

"We are winning but we are needing to change something to improve because maybe, in our matches, it is not enough to get to the other side like we are."

Ipswich, meanwhile, are one of six teams yet to register a Premier League victory this season, though they did deny fellow promoted club Southampton last time out, Sam Morsy netting a stunning 95th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

Boss Kieran McKenna has hailed his captain's tendency to pop up with crucial goals, though he feels the Egyptian needs to work on his celebration.

"It was one of the shortest knee-slides I've seen so I think there's a bit of work to do on the technique of the slide!" McKenna said.

"He's scored a few big goals for us to be fair and he's always come up with a slightly different celebration so maybe he isn't a regular enough scorer to have a stock one.

"If he can keep popping up with big goals, he can do whatever he wants!"

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Ipswich Town – Arijanet Muric

Although he only has one Premier League clean sheet in 14 games for Burnley and Ipswich, according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model, Muric has prevented 9.4 goals in the competition (21 goals conceded from an xGoT of 30.4).

That is the best prevention rate of any goalkeeper in the Premier League since he made his debut on March 16. He may have a busy game ahead of him this weekend.

Aston Villa – Ollie Watkins

Since Emery's first Aston Villa game in November 2022, only Erling Haaland (66) and Mohamed Salah (59) have been involved in more Premier League goals than Watkins (53 – 35 goals, 18 assists).

Watkins has five goal contributions (three goals, two assists) to his name in all competitions this season and could get some joy against an Ipswich defence that has given up 11.09 expected goals against (xGA) this season – the sixth-worst figure in Europe's top five leagues.

MATCH PREDICTION – ASTON VILLA WIN

Ipswich have only won one of their 10 previous Premier League games against Villa (two draws, seven defeats), triumphing 1-0 at Villa Park back in March 1994.

The Tractor Boys are winless through their first five games of the campaign, drawing three and losing two. They last had a longer winless run at the start of a top-flight season in 1982-83, failing to win any of their first six but ultimately finishing in the top half.

Ipswich have actually drawn their last three league matches, last drawing more successive games as a Championship club between February and March 2017. They last had a longer run of draws as a top-flight side in 1992 (five between August and September).

Villa come in as favourites, as they look to win their first three away games in a Premier League season for just the second time, previously doing so in 2020-21.

Emery has won nine of 10 league games against newly promoted clubs as Villa boss, including all four to take place on the road. Overall, he has a win percentage of 78% (14 wins, two draws, two defeats) in 18 meetings with Premier League new boys.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Ipswich Town – 26.2%

Aston Villa – 49%

Draw – 24.8%

The Premier League delivered another weekend of thrills and spills as the 2024-25 season really clicks into gear.

Manchester City fought back late on to draw 2-2 with Arsenal in the headline fixture of the weekend on Sunday.

Chelsea and Liverpool each claimed 3-0 wins, while Manchester United were frustrated by Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, the bottom six teams in the league remain without a win, which is a Premier League first five games into a season.

But, what did the underlying metrics suggest about the weekend's action?

Unlucky loser: Man Utd

The data has thrown up an interesting storyline this week - there was not really a particularly unlucky loser or lucky winner.

Instead, the results that were most skewed were draws, with United one of the teams that can consider themselves unfortunate not to have picked up all three points.

They mustered 1.7 expected goals (xG) against Palace at Selhurst Park, having 15 shots and missing all five of their big chances. Only Tottenham (seven) created more big chances in total this weekend.

United had six shots on target, but found their former goalkeeper Dean Henderson in fine form, with Palace's expected goals on target (xGoT) conceded coming in at 1.9, showing just how well their shot-stopper performed.

Lucky winner: Arsenal

Drawing right at the death may have felt like a defeat for Arsenal, but it is fair to say the pressure had been building for Man City before John Stones steered home in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Mikel Arteta's team, reduced to 10 men following Leandro Trossard's second booking on the stroke of half-time, set out their stall to defend for the second half, and they very nearly got over the line.

Yet City, who had 77.2% of the ball, were dominant. They had 28 shots in the second half alone, the joint-highest ever by a team on record (from 2003-04) in a single half of Premier League football.

City finished with 2.18 xG, while the Gunners recorded just 0.67 - that was the third-lowest figure across the league this weekend.

Unlucky loser: Southampton

Two of those six teams at the bottom still waiting for a first league win are Southampton and Ipswich Town, who faced off at St Mary's on Saturday.

Southampton looked all set to wrap up their maiden victory of 2024-25 until, late on, Sam Morsy's deflected effort left the hosts stunned.

Only Spurs (3.52) registered a higher xG in the league this round than Southampton (2.49), who missed three of their four big chances.

That being said, Ipswich did have more shots (13 to 11) and recorded 1.69 xG, which suggests the Tractor Boys were at least worthy of one goal.

Russell Martin was left “angry and frustrated” after Southampton conceded a stoppage-time equaliser to draw 1-1 with Ipswich Town.

Martin's team took an early lead through Tyler Dibling after five minutes and held on until the 95th minute, when Ipswich’s Sam Morsy fired home to level the scores.

Southampton had accrued an expected goals (xG) total of 2.49 while fending off the majority of their opponent’s 13 shots, six of which were on target.

However, they were left to reflect on a frustrating result at home to a fellow newly promoted outfit.

"There are so many things to be positive about. It was our best performance, but it wasn't enough to get the win, so I'm allowed to be angry and annoyed," the Southampton boss told Match of the Day.

"We allowed them a header just before the corner where they scored from the second phase. We didn't stick to our principles in the details, and that's about having enough experience to get through, and we didn't do it.

"There was so much good stuff but the overriding feeling is being disappointed. We made a few fundamental errors that we haven't done in training so it has to be down to the anxiety.

"There were so many positives but I'm frustrated and angry because of the lateness of their goal and the feeling that we deserved to win, but that's football and these things happen.”

Martin’s adversary in the dugout, Kieran McKenna, believed Ipswich deserved the point despite conceding several good chances, and they have now accrued the highest expected goals against figure in the Premier League this season (11.49 xGA).

Despite registering 1.68 xG themselves, they became only the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from outside the box.

"It was a fantastic way to finish the game. For the captain to step up and strike it well and for the goal to come in front of the away supporters to get a point is a great thing for the group to go through,” said McKenna.

"I thought we deserved a point. We started much better but were undone with a real piece of quality from Adam Lallana. Against a team away from home, pushing for their first win was not easy, but we kept doing the right things.

"It's a massive thing to go through and builds on what we have done over the last few years. Scoring late goals and never giving up has been a massive part of our success, so for a new group, it's good for them to go through that today.

"We're edging in the right direction, but we have to keep improving. It's about keep developing as a team, keep improving and the points will take care of themselves."

Sam Morsy's stunning stoppage-time goal salvaged a point for Ipswich Town as they fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with Southampton at St Mary's.

With both sides winless in their first four games of 2024/25 after winning promotion together from the Championship last term, Saturday's match was played out at a relentless pace from the off.

Teenager Tyler Dibling, one week on from a positive performance against Manchester United, put Southampton ahead early on, taking in Adam Lallana's pass and producing a composed one-on-one finish.

Russell Martin's team were closing in on a huge victory when Morsy struck five minutes into stoppage time, sending a 20-yard volley into the top-left corner via the help of a slight deflection off Jan Bednarek.

The result keeps both teams still waiting on their first wins of the campaign, with Southampton 18th after earning their first point and Ipswich two points better off in 16th.

Data Debrief: Ipswich the long-range maestros

All three of Ipswich’s Premier League goals this season have come from outside the box, with Morsy pouncing on a half-cleared corner at the death to find the top-left corner, with a little help from a deflection.

They are the fifth side in Premier League history to have each of their first three goals in a single campaign come from distance, after Aston Villa (1993-94), Arsenal (2002-03), Fulham (2009-10) and Burnley (2016-17).

While the Tractor Boys are still waiting on their first Premier League win since 2002, Southampton remain winless in 18 Premier League matches, since a 1-0 win against Leicester in March 2023.

Russell Martin was delighted with how Southampton bounced back in the EFL Cup and urged them to keep that fighting spirit in the Premier League against Ipswich Town.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure's opener for Everton in the EFL Cup third-round tie on Tuesday before they beat the Toffees on penalties to progress.

It was a much-needed victory for Southampton, who have failed to win all four of their Premier League games so far, with their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United last time out their 400th loss in the competition.

It is a huge game for both promoted sides, but Martin is keen to build on their win in midweek by providing the perfect Premier League response.

"I loved the togetherness and the spirit [against Everton]," Martin said. "We're going to need all of that on Saturday.

"We were so good for half an hour last weekend, but we didn't respond well enough to a setback. [On Tuesday] we did, and that's the biggest area of growth and learning.

"We are going to have setbacks as a team and a group and a club this season, we've spoken about that, but how we respond to them and how we bounce back is going to be the most important bit."

Meanwhile, Ipswich had a tough start to life back in the Premier League with defeats to Liverpool and reigning champions Manchester City, but they have since picked up points in draws with Fulham and Brighton.

Kieran McKenna's biggest challenge, though, has been integrating their 11 new signings into the squad, and he believes they are starting to see positive results from their transfer business.

"It's not going to happen overnight," said McKenna on the squad gelling together.

"We're in a process and I think we're going to get better week-by-week if we take the right approach.

"It's good that we've already been pretty competitive in our games. If we stick on the right path, then over the course of weeks and months we'll be in a much better place than we are now."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz

Ben Brereton Diaz has played 18 Premier League matches across spells with Sheffield United and current side Southampton and is still yet to end on the winning side (D4 L14), an all-time Premier League record for games played without winning.

He is also yet to score since joining the Saints, giving up the opportunity to take a penalty last weekend, and he will be desperate to end both of those droughts.

Ipswich Town – Sammie Szmodics

Ipswich have had just nine shots in the first halves of their four Premier League games so far this season, the fewest of any side.

Away from home, the Tractor Boys have managed one first-half shot in two games – Sammie Szmodics' goal against Man City in August.

MATCH PREDICTION: SOUTHAMPTON WIN

Southampton lost 1-0 at home to Ipswich in the Championship last season but have not lost consecutive home league games against the Tractor Boys since April 1980.

The Saints are one of two teams yet to lead for a single minute in the Premier League this season, alongside Crystal Palace. Southampton have also spent more time in a losing position than anyone else in 2024-25 (208 minutes and 15 seconds, inc. injury time).

This is the latest two newly promoted teams are meeting in a Premier League season with both still winless since Fulham beat West Bromwich Albion on matchday seven of the 2020-21 campaign; only one of the six games between such sides last season was won by the home team (Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United).

Meanwhile, Ipswich have won more Premier League games against Southampton than they have vs any other opponent (five). However, they lost the last such meeting between the sides 3-1 at Portman Road in March 2002.

Ipswich have failed to win any of their opening four Premier League games this season (D2 L2). It is the Tractor Boys' longest winless start to a top-flight season since 1984-85 (first five games).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Southampton – 43.4%

Draw – 25.7%

Ipswich Town – 30.9%

Brighton's unbeaten start to the Premier League season continued, but they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Ipswich Town and inspired goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.

The Seagulls could not make their dominance count as their newly promoted opponents showed spirit and resilience to earn their first away point back in the Premier League on Saturday.

Muric kept Ipswich in the contest with a series of excellent saves to deny Brighton in a one-sided first half.

Ipswich carried more of a counter-attacking threat after half-time, and Liam Delap nearly shocked the Amex Stadium when his strike hit the post following a powerful run.

Brighton kept pushing for a breakthrough goal at the other end, but Ipswich held on and are just outside of the relegation zone, with their hosts staying third behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

Data Debrief: You shall not pass

This was Brighton’s 27th goalless draw in the Premier League, three more than any other side since they were promoted to the division in 2017.

The Seagulls had 21 shots against Ipswich, their most without scoring in a single Premier League home game since February 2023 against Fulham (also 21).

Fabian Hurzeler's side managed six shots on target, all of which were met with the gloves of Muric, who made six saves to hand the Tractor Boys their second point of the season. 

But there will be cause for concern at the top end of the pitch. Ipswich didn’t register a single shot in the first half – it’s the first time they’ve not had a shot in the opening 45 minutes of a league match since March 2020 against Fleetwood Town in League One.

Matt O'Riley is in good spirits and could come back "quite fast" as he recovers from ankle surgery, so says Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler.

Brighton signed Denmark international O'Riley from Celtic last month, but the midfielder sustained an injury on his debut.

O'Riley was on the end of a poor challenge from Crawley Town's Jay Williams, and subsequently had to undergo surgery.

Ahead of Brighton's meeting with Ipswich Town on Saturday, Hurzeler said O'Riley could return ahead of schedule.

"He's in very good spirits. He has a great character, a great attitude, so immediately after the surgery he was very, very positive," Hurzeler said of the 23-year-old.

"He is around us in the training ground, he is doing his rehab already and I think he will be coming back quite fast."

Brighton have made a strong start to the season, going unbeaten in their opening three Premier League matches.

And for new boss Hurzeler, the international break provided an opportunity to reflect on the first weeks of the campaign.

"For me it was time to reflect, to re-analyse the first few weeks," said the 31-year-old, who is the youngest coach in Premier League history.

"I think it is very important to reflect on what is going good so far and where we can improve. That was the first thing I did.

"The second thing was to plan the next phase and the next week because now we have a lot of games in the next period of time. We have a lot of home games so we want to use this chance.

"For me it was more reflection and planning. Of course, I also had one or two minutes for myself."

Brighton v Ipswich will be the 936th different fixture to be played in the Premier League. They met eight times in the top flight between 1979 and 1983 (four Ipswich wins, two Brighton wins, two draws), with the Tractor Boys winning 2-0 in the most recent thanks to goals from John Wark and Alan Brazil.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brighton - Simon Adingra

Excluding own goals, Adingra has scored five of Brighton's last eight Premier League goals against newly promoted opponents. This accounts for 71% of the Ivorian's Premier League goals (5/7).

Ipswich Town - Leif Davis

Davis was a star for Ipswich in the Championship last season, and he leads the way for the Tractor Boys for chances created (three).

That being said, he will be tested defensively on Saturday, with Yankuba Minteh likely to start down Brighton's right flank.

MATCH PREDICTION: BRIGHTON WIN

Ipswich have had the fewest shots (19), shots on target (seven) and the lowest expected goals total (1.2) of any side in the Premier League so far this season. 

And in a run stretching back to March 2002, Ipswich have lost each of their last five Premier League away games by an aggregate score of 18-3. They are winless in their last eight on the road in the top-flight (D1 L7) since a 2-1 win at Everton in February 2002.

Meanwhile, Brighton have won six of their last eight Premier League matches in September (D1 L1), scoring 3+ goals in each of their last four such victories. However, their last September match ended in a 6-1 defeat at Aston Villa.

Brighton have lost just one of their last 13 Premier League home games against promoted sides (W5 D7), going down 1-0 against Fulham in February 2023.

Ipswich have won two of their last four away league games against Brighton (D1 L1), with those wins coming in March 2014 (2-0) and December 2015 (1-0). They had been winless in their previous eight league visits to the Seagulls before this (D5 L3).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Brighton - 65.7%

Ipswich - 15.3%

Draw - 19%

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes his side have gained belief from their opening three fixtures of the season.

McKenna’s side picked up their first point of the Premier League campaign since being promoted on Saturday, drawing 1-1 at home to Fulham.

This followed losses in two tough opening matches against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Despite a total of just one point so far, McKenna believes all three matches were beneficial to help show his side how they can approach the season.

"Especially in the Liverpool game, the players came away with more confidence from it," McKenna said.

"And [against Fulham] we built on what we did against Liverpool. Our pressure was good and aggressive again.

"I think the players have come away from the first three games with more belief to be honest."

The 38-year-old was delighted with Liam Delap’s display after he got off the mark for the first time since his summer move from Manchester City.

"I enjoyed his all-round performance, each week he’s getting stronger, he’s learning and he’s got great growth to come," added McKenna.

“He’s got great potential, we have real faith in Liam and we are enjoying working with him.”

Marco Silva was slightly disappointed that his Fulham side failed to build on last week’s victory over Leicester City.

Adama Traore scored an equaliser before half-time but there was little between the teams after the break.

Silva said to BBC Sport: “It was a tough game against an aggressive side. They have great support which demanded us to win duels and beat the pressure.

"The reaction from us [after Ipswich scored] was good, we scored a good equaliser and after that we took a step forward and were completely in control.

"[Traore] created some good moments for other players, he is in good shape, helping the team and the reason why he is playing is because he can be decisive for us if he can take the right decisions.

"But the second half was a lot more difficult for us, we were not able to control the game the way we liked. We were solid, we did not give many things away but we did not create."

Ipswich Town earned their first point of the Premier League season but were denied victory by Adama Traore's leveller in a 1-1 draw with Fulham at Portman Road.

The Tractor Boys’ search for a first top-flight victory since April 2002 started in stunning fashion as Liam Delap rifled the ball home after good work from Leif Davis.

However, Fulham would respond in the 32nd minute as Traore rounded off a free-flowing move to level the encounter.

Both sides traded blows in search of an important three points at this early stage of the season, with Chiedozie Ogbene and Raul Jimenez seeing their efforts repelled in a seesaw second half.

With neither team able to find a winner, Ipswich sit 16th in the early-season standings, while Fulham are just outside the top half of the table ahead of the weekend's remaining fixtures. 

Data Debrief: Tractor Boys off the mark

Despite not claiming all three points, it marked Ipswich's first Premier League point since a 1-0 victory over Middlesborough in April 2002, a game that saw Darren Bent strike the decisive blow. 

However, Fulham may feel they could have returned to Craven Cottage with all three points, producing 19 touches in the opposition box compared to Ipswich's 12, while also missing two big chances. 

Delap was a particular standout for the hosts, registering an expected goals (xG) of 0.22 to Ipswich's 0.48 total, recording the most shots (four) and shots on target (two) of anyone on the pitch. 

Fulham boss Marco Silva will not underestimate Ipswich Town when his side travel to Portman Road to face the Premier League new boys on Saturday.

Fulham have three points from their first two games of 2024-25, slipping to a narrow matchday one defeat at Manchester United before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over Leicester City.

Their next outing comes against another newly promoted side in Kieran McKenna's Ipswich, who have started life in the top flight with losses to Liverpool (2-0) and Manchester City (4-1).

Silva, though, expects them to put up a real fight on home soil, hailing McKenna for instilling a winning mentality at the club.

"I expect a really tough game," Silva said. "They have an unbelievable winning mentality from the last two seasons. 

"When you are promoted the way they were from League One to the Championship, and then from the Championship to the Premier League, I have to say that is unbelievable.

"They've played two really tough games against Liverpool and City but the first game of the season was a really tough one for Liverpool; the way they played, the atmosphere. It was a solid start for them except for the result.

"The environment will be the same – really big support for the home side and it'll be a tough game."

Ipswich were unable to foster any positivity in midweek as they were dumped out of the EFL Cup on penalties by fourth-tier AFC Wimbledon, as McKenna made 10 changes to his starting lineup.

He defended that approach while looking ahead to Saturday's game, saying: "I think it was the right thing to do. Going out of the cup isn't good, we're disappointed for the supporters, we wanted to progress, but it's really, really clear what our priorities are this season.

"I think the new players are further now in their understanding of how to play with each other. 

"I think we learned a fair bit about the strengths of them and the minutes in the legs will be very important. Hopefully that will help us in the next few weeks."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Ipswich Town – Sam Szmodics 

Szmodics netted on his first Premier League start on matchday two, scoring the opener in Ipswich's 4-1 defeat to City. 

The last Ipswich player to score on his first two Premier League starts was Adam Tanner in January 1995.

Fulham – Andreas Pereira  

Fulham midfielder Pereira has created 13 chances in the Premier League this season, six more than any other player. 

It is the most by any player in a team's opening two games in a Premier League season since 2012-13, when Leighton Baines also created 13 for Everton.

MATCH PREDICTION – FULHAM WIN

The only previous Premier League meetings between Ipswich and Fulham came in the 2001-02 season, with the Tractor Boys remaining unbeaten against the Cottagers that campaign (1-1 away, 1-0 at home).

Fulham, however, have won their last four league meetings with Ipswich, with this the first clash between the teams since a 4-1 home win in January 2018. The Cottagers had been winless in nine league games against them before this run (three draws, six losses).

Only in 1949-50, 1956-57 (both in the third division south) and 2006-07 (Championship) have Ipswich lost their first three matches to start a league season, but that fate could await them here.

Fulham have won four of their last eight away Premier League games (two draws, two defeats), having gone 11 without a victory before this run began (four draws, seven losses).

Neutrals should expect entertainment: Since Fulham drew 0-0 with Newcastle United in 2010, none of their 40 Premier League games against newly promoted teams have been goalless, with 141 goals scored in those contests, an average of 3.5 per match.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Ipswich Town – 32.9%

Fulham – 41.1%

Draw – 26%

League Two AFC Wimbledon shocked Premier League side Ipswich Town on penalties to reach the third round of the EFL Cup.

Conor Chaplin had equalised for Ipswich late in normal time to make it 2-2 but Dons goalkeeper Owen Goodman was the hero in the shootout, saving from Jack Taylor and Omari Hutchinson.

Wimbledon's reward will be a third-round tie at home to Newcastle United, who beat Nottingham Forest on penalties after drawing 1-1 at the City Ground.

Southampton booked their place in the third round after eventually coming through a 5-3 thriller away at Cardiff City.

Injury-time goals from James Bree and Cameron Archer got the job done for the Saints, who were pegged back three times by Cardiff earlier on.

There were wins for Wolves, who beat Burnley 2-0 at home, and Brentford, who won 1-0 away at Colchester.

West Ham defeated fellow Premier League side Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Jarrod Bowen and will now play holders Liverpool in the next round.

Last season's finalists Chelsea will host Barrow in the next round, while there are also home ties for both Manchester City and Manchester United, who will play Watford and Barnsley respectively. 

Arsenal face League One Bolton at home, while their North London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur will travel to Coventry. 

EFL Cup third-round draw in full:

Liverpool v West Ham

Manchester City v Watford

Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers

Manchester United v Barnsley

Wycombe Wanderers v Aston Villa

Coventry City v Tottenham

Walsall v Leicester City

Brentford v Leyton Orient

Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday

Preston North End v Fulham

Everton v Southampton

Queens Park Rangers v Crystal Palace

Stoke City v Fleetwood Town

Brighton v Wolves

AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle United

Chelsea v Barrow