'I am going for': Chris Sutton makes prediction for Ipswich Town vs Man Utd

BBC football pundit Chris Sutton has stated his prediction for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Ipswich Town and Manchester United at Portman Road.

The Red Devils have had an underwhelming league campaign and they have picked up only 15 points from their opening 11 games. Despite this, they are still in the Champions League race.

Several clubs have underperformed in the early part of the season and United are only four points adrift of Chelsea and Arsenal, who are third and fourth respectively.

New manager Ruben Amorim will take charge of his maiden game against Ipswich. United have the chance to register back-to-back league wins for the first time this term.

Ahead of the encounter, Sutton highlighted that Ipswich will have real belief after beating Tottenham Hotspur on the road. It was their first victory since their top-flight return.

Kieran McKenna’s side have also drawn three games on their home turf. Sutton has backed them to share the spoils (1-1) against a United side, who are adapting to a new system under Amorim.

He said: “Ipswich’s win at Tottenham will give them real belief and they have had three draws already at home, so they will be competitive, especially if United are adapting to a new system – a lot of their players are coming back from international duty and haven’t had time to work with Amorim.

“United will have some defending to do because Sammie Szmodics is lively up front and Liam Delap is a handful too – his stats for goal involvements, including assists, is really impressive. Ipswich just need to stop being so careless defensively. If they do that, they could get something from this game.

“Everyone else is probably going to put Amorim to start with a win, but I am going for a draw.”

United have had only one training session under Amorim. It was conducted on Monday where a number of key players were away on international duty with their respective countries.

Amorim was spotted working with a 3-4-3 formation on the training pitch. He may have just a couple of sessions with the entire squad before Sunday’s late kick-off at Portman Road.

With the unfamiliarity to the tactics, the game may not be straightforward for the Red Devils, but we believe their quality should ensure that Amorim starts on a winning note.

Ipswich have one of the league’s worst defences with an average of two goals conceded and this should encourage the Red Devils. Bruno Fernandes will have a huge role to play.

Fernandes has six goal contributions in his last four games for United. The Portuguese should enjoy playing under Amorim. He could have more freedom with lesser defensive duties.

The additional centre-back in the XI should improve United’s defensive record going forward.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com