High-flying Nottingham Forest travel to Portman Road to take on Ipswich in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and our match preview has the latest team news and lineups ahead of the action.
Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest Preview
Relegation-threatened Ipswich Town welcome high-flying Nottingham Forest to Portman Road in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, where Kieran McKenna’s side will be hoping to end a nine-game winless run in the division.
The Tractor Boys are yet to record a league victory in 2025, with their last triumph coming against Chelsea in their final game of 2024, and they come into this one off the back of four consecutive defeats across all competitions.
Last time out, they were narrowly beaten 1-0 away at Crystal Palace, following on from a 3-2 loss against Manchester United and a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Sandwiched in between the Palace and United losses, the Suffolk-based outfit were eliminated from the FA Cup by their Gamweek 29 opponents, with Forest prevailing 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
Ipswich are currently in 18th place in the English top-flight table, level on points with 19th place Leicester and eight points clear of bottom of the table Southampton, but six points adrift of 17th place Wolves.
All smiles at HQ. 😁📌 pic.twitter.com/DaDdQnrSMg
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) March 13, 2025
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, meanwhile, are up in third place, primed for European qualification. They are just four points behind second place Arsenal and are two points ahead of reigning champions Manchester City, whom they beat 1-0 last weekend thanks to Callum Hudson-Odoi‘s 83rd-minute strike.
The Reds are now unbeaten in three across all competitions, and when they faced off against the Tractor Boys in the reverse fixture back in November, they sealed a narrow 1-0 win at the City Ground. The scorer? Chris Wood, of course.
Ipswich Team News
Long-term absentees Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) and Sammie Szmodics (ankle) remain out for the foreseeable, while Conor Chaplin (knee), Axel Tuanzebe (thigh) and Arijanet Muric (shoulder) are also ruled out.
Omari Hutchinson made his return from injury in the defeat to Palace last time out, featuring for 23 minutes off the bench, and the former Arsenal and Chelsea academy star could be in line for a start in this one.
Nottingham Forest Team News
As for Forest, their only injury concern heading into the tie is with backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel. The Brazilian has been out of action since being forced off with a thigh injury in the FA Cup win over Exeter last month.
With no concerns among their regular starters, the Reds look likely to field an unchanged starting lineup.
Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest Confirmed Lineups
Ipswich Lineup:
Palmer; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Phillips, Cajuste; Philogene, Enciso, Hutchinson; Delap
Nottingham Forest Lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
The best football betting sites in the UK have Forest as 1/1 favourites to come out on top in Suffolk on Saturday, while a victory for the hosts is rated at around 11/4 and a draw is priced at around 5/2.
Recent form suggests one thing and one thing only – three points for Nottingham Forest. Ipswich’s form has simply been dreadful since the turn of the year, while Forest come into the tie off the back of a win over Manchester City and a draw against Arsenal. We can see the visitors cruising to victory in this one.
Prediction: Ipswich 0-2 Nottingham Forest
