Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest meet at Portman Road in an unexpected league position battle, with Ipswich sitting in 10th place and Forest struggling in 19th after the opening seven games of the campaign.
Kick-off Time and How to Watch
The fixture kicks off at 8pm BST on Friday, October 23, at Portman Road. Live television coverage in the UK will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League starting at 7.30pm, while TalkSPORT offers full match radio commentary.
Team News for Both Sides
Sasa Lukic missed the 3-2 defeat against Manchester City due to a slight groin problem but is expected to return for Friday, potentially restoring his midfield pairing with Exequiel Palacios over alternatives Florentino Luis and Azor Matusiwa. Jack Taylor remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Abdul Fatawu returns from a one-match suspension to challenge Daizen Maeda for a wide role. Manager Gary O’Neil deployed a back three against City, and retaining that shape would keep Leif Davis and Abdoul Ouattara in wing-back positions.
For Nottingham Forest, Igor Jesus is sidelined with a calf injury until the end of the month, leaving former Ipswich forward Liam Delap as the main striker ahead of cover option Chris Wood. Morgan Gibbs-White missed the Arsenal match with a muscle issue, though manager Oliver Glasner indicated the midfielder was close to featuring and may have been saved for this fixture. If fit, Gibbs-White will play behind Delap, pushing James McAtee into midfield, otherwise Nicolas Dominguez retains his spot. Nikola Milenkovic returned to the matchday squad against Arsenal following a knee bone bruise and could be eased into the lineup, while long-term absentee Nicolo Savona remains out with a knee injury.
Match Odds and Prediction
Despite occupying second bottom in the standings, Nottingham Forest enter the match as 6/5 favourites to claim victory. Ipswich are priced at 2/1 to secure their third home win of the season, and a draw is available at 11/4. In relegation markets, Ipswich are 5/2 to go down, compared to 15/2 for Forest.
Underlying metrics suggest Forest are underperforming relative to their displays, ranking fourth for expected points and holding a negative goal difference variance of 6.5. However, based on actual results, Ipswich present value at 2/1 odds, though the conflicting evidence points toward an 11/4 draw. Former Ipswich player Liam Delap, who scored in the win at Aston Villa, is priced at 2/1 to score anytime on his return to Portman Road, with a Bet Builder combining a Delap goal and a draw paying 10/1.
