Ipswich Town head into the final month of their Premier League campaign, starting with a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton (3pm). Alex Jones previews the action.
An eye on the future
This is the first match following Ipswich’s relegation from the Premier League. There are four left to play.
This whole scenario has been a bit bizarre. Town knew that relegation was likely since the home defeat to Southampton back in February, and it became inevitable when Wolves took all three points at Portman Road in early April.
Even then, they had three more games to play before their fate was officially sealed. Now, they have four matches until the campaign comes to an end.
This season’s relegation battle has been terrible for the neutral. The bottom three have been cut adrift for quite a while and it always felt like they would be the teams destined to drop to the Championship, having only sealed promotion last season.
The Blues still need to pick up as many points as they can between now and May 25th. Then we can all look ahead to pre-season and the 2025/26 campaign.
Stick or twist?
There’s a fine balance that Ipswich have to tread now. On the one hand, they will want to win as many games as they can by fielding their strongest possible team. On the other hand, there are one or two players who may get some more minutes now that safety is mathematically impossible.
That’s because there are a handful of Town stars who will surely not be at the club after this season. For example, Jens Cajuste. It was widely reported that the Blues had an obligation to sign him if they avoided the drop, but he now looks set to return to parent club Napoli, where he will probably be sold.
The Swedish international was named on the bench at St. James’ Park after picking up a knock, with Jack Taylor replacing him in the starting lineup. Taylor may feel that he has a good chance of becoming a regular starter next season – so is this the chance for him to get some more starts? He’s only had two this season.
Julio Enciso will surely head back to Brighton following his loan spell at Portman Road. Is this a chance to get Conor Chaplin back up to full speed then? He’ll be a valuable asset in the Championship.
Finally, what about Liam Delap? With reports of a £30m relegation release clause, he seems destined to join a top club this summer. Does George Hirst deserve an extended run, with a chance to be the starting striker next season?
Goodbye Goodison
As everyone now knows, this will be the final season that Everton play at Goodison Park.
This won’t be the end of the stadium - it won’t be demolished - with the Toffees’ new owners revealing that it will be ‘preserved for community use’. There’s even a chance that the women’s team could play there.
But for now, this is it. The stadium that has hosted the most English top flight games in history will not be used by Everton.
It’s a ground that has housed them since 1892 and hosted a World Cup semi-final in 1966. For all its faults as a modern venue, it’s a staple of the English game and one that will be sorely missed.
Fans will try to ensure that they go out with a bang, with plans for a big welcome as the players walk out onto the pitch. Work started on Tuesday and was finished on Friday night, making it one of the biggest projects in their history.
According to the Liverpool Echo: “It will be the final time the supporter group the 1878s step in to create a display and is set to be a remarkable occasion.
“Tifos, 22 metre-long banners and ticker tape are among the set pieces that will make the ground dazzle as the players enter to the sound of Z-Cars.
“There will be new flags in the Gwladys Street, tifos in the Family Enclosure and the Park End, banners in the Paddock and then ticker tape in the Top Balcony, Upper Bullens, Upper Gwladys and the front of the Park End.”
Another year for Everton
For a while, it felt like Everton’s last season at Goodison Park would end in relegation from the Premier League. Under Sean Dyche, they were certainly heading that way, sitting perilously above the drop zone before he was sacked in early January.
It was a bit of a shock at the time, happening hours before an FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough United, but there was a feeling that former boss David Moyes would be in line to return. In the end, that’s exactly what happened.
A Toffees hero from his first stint in charge, there was a lot on the line for the Scotsman, who has had a difficult career since leaving the club to take charge of Manchester United following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. He lost 1-0 in his first game back against Aston Villa but followed it up with three consecutive wins and an iconic draw against arch-rivals Liverpool.
Their form has dipped since then, but all that matters is that they are safe. They are rock-solid defensively but a bit blunt in attack, leading to plenty of low-margin games.
James Tarkowski (hamstring) is out for the season – a significant miss at the back. In his absence, Jake O’Brien has switched to centre-back, with Nathan Patterson moving to right-back in the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring) hasn’t played since January but Moyes claims he could return to the squad, while Napoli loanee Jesper Lindstrom (groin) has been out since the March international break. Orel Mangala (ACL) won’t feature again this season.
Armando Broja missed the game at Stamford Bridge, unable to face his parent club. He could return to the starting lineup against Ipswich, facing the team who almost signed him last summer in a crazy on-again, off-again transfer saga.
In the end, his injury issues de-railed that move and he ended up on Merseyside, although he’s yet to score in his 10 appearances for the Toffees so far this season.
Possible Everton XI: 4-2-3-1: Pickford; Patterson, O’Brien, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; Harrison, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Broja
Team news
The big issue for Ipswich comes on the right flank. Chiedozie Ogbene [Achilles] and Wes Burns [ACL] both have long-term injuries. Omari Hutchinson isn't fully fit. Now, after picking up a red card against Newcastle, Ben Johnson is suspended.
The options to replace the ex-West Ham man are scarce. Ben Godfrey, who spent four years at Everton following his move from Norwich City, seems the most likely candidate.
Although a natural centre-back who can play at right-back, he played some minutes at wing-back for Atalanta earlier in the campaign. That's the role he took up when he was subbed on against the Magpies.
Kieran McKenna kept his cards close to his chest when it came to injury news. As a result, there are question marks over Axel Tuanzebe and Conor Townsend, for example. There will be some late calls going into the game. Omari Hutchinson and Cajuste made the bench at Newcastle but weren't fit enough to start.
Possible Town XI: 5-2-2-1: Palmer; Godfrey, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Burgess, Greaves; Morsy, Taylor; Enciso, Clarke; Delap
