Arsenal aim to keep Liverpool and Chelsea within reach as they host Ipswich Town for a match in North London on Friday.
The Gunners are third in the Premier League and squandered two recent opportunities to narrow the gap between themselves and league leaders Liverpool, also allowing Chelsea to leapfrog into second place ahead of the holiday fixtures. However, back-to-back wins over Crystal Palace (in the Carabao Cup and Premier League, respectively) have Arsenal back on track.
They are now given a struggling opponent in Ipswich, with the Tractor Boys having lost four of their last five league matches and looking like prime candidates to go back down to the Championship at the end of the season.
Ipswich come into this match on the back of an 0-4 loss to Newcastle and they may be ripe for another drubbing.
Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town: Head-to-head and recent statistics
- All-time meetings: 59
- Arsenal wins: 30
- Draws: 11
- Ipswich wins: 18
Arsenal hold the advantage in all-time meetings, with 30 wins in 59 matches.
The Gunners have not lost a league match to Ipswich since 1984.
Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town: Team news
Arsenal
- Injured: Tomiyasu, White, Zinchenko, Sterling, Saka
- Suspended: None
Ipswich
- Injured: Ogbene, Hirst, Tuanzebe
- Suspended: Morsy
Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town: What the managers are saying
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal
(via Arsenal.com)
"I like Kieran and have a lot of people that know him very closely and they always say great things about him. You can tell how they’re coached, what they’re trying to do. I think they’ve been very unfortunate in many games not getting the results that they deserve, so a very tough game for sure."
Kieran McKenna, Ipswich Town
(via Yahoo!)
“If we're talking about game management, defensive resilience, those sort of things, then going to the Emirates is as tough as it gets when it comes to those requirements."
Arsenal vs. Ipswich Town: Prediction
Barring a Christmas miracle for the visitors, this should be a fairly straightforward day at the Emirates for Arsenal.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich Town