For Arsenal, a loss here — combined with a Liverpool win over Leicester — would officially end their slim hopes of winning the title. As for Ipswich, they’ll be relegated if they lose and both West Ham and Wolves win their matches. In other words, both sides are fighting to delay the inevitable a little longer.
Arsenal are riding high after a stunning midweek win at the Bernabéu. They knocked out Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009, where they'll face Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite their European success, Arsenal can’t afford to take their eyes off the Premier League just yet. Their title hopes are hanging by a thread, and last weekend’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Brentford didn’t help. If they lose on Sunday and Liverpool win, that’s it — their title chase is over.
They do have a few stats working in their favor: Arsenal haven’t lost in 10 straight games in all competitions, and they’ve won their last 10 Premier League matches against teams who were in the bottom three at the time.
Things are looking grim for Ipswich. They're 14 points from safety with just six games to go, and if they lose to Arsenal and both West Ham and Wolves win, their return to the Championship will be confirmed.
They’ll be kicking themselves after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Chelsea last weekend, eventually losing 4-2 thanks to some sloppy defending and an own goal. That collapse sums up their season — no team has dropped more points from winning positions than Ipswich, who’ve let 27 points slip away after taking the lead.
To make matters worse, they’ve lost their last six home games, and one more defeat would be a new club record for consecutive home losses in the Premier League. History isn’t on their side either — Ipswich haven’t beaten Arsenal in 11 Premier League meetings, and haven’t managed a single win against them in the top flight.
It’s a must-win game for both teams — Arsenal to stay in the title race, Ipswich to keep their survival hopes alive. But with the Gunners in strong form and Ipswich struggling badly at home, the odds are firmly stacked against the hosts.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Arsenal had some good and bad news coming out of their midweek win in Madrid. Ben White and Thomas Partey were both fit enough to play after recent knocks, but Jorginho missed out due to a chest injury picked up against Brentford. He’s not expected back until the final couple of games this season.
He’s joined on the injury list by Gabriel Jesus (knee), Gabriel Magalhães (hamstring), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Kai Havertz (hamstring), and Riccardo Calafiori, whose knee issue doesn’t look likely to clear up in time for this one either.
With another league game against Crystal Palace coming up on Wednesday, Mikel Arteta is likely to rotate his squad a bit. That could mean starts for Ben White, Leandro Trossard, and possibly a rare appearance from Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Things went from bad to worse for Ipswich in last weekend’s defeat at Chelsea. Jaden Philogene went off with a knee injury in the second half, and there’s concern he may have damaged his MCL — which would be a serious blow.
Kalvin Phillips is dealing with an Achilles issue, and he joins a long list of absentees: Wes Burns (knee), Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Arijanet Muric (shoulder), and Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles) are all out for the foreseeable future. Omari Hutchinson also won’t be ready in time to face his former club due to a thigh injury.
The one bit of encouraging news? Striker Liam Delap — who started on the bench last weekend due to a rib injury — could be fit enough to start this time, though he’ll still need to be assessed before kickoff.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Tuanzebe, O'Shea, Burgess, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Johnson, Enciso, Clarke; Delap
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; White, Saliba, Kiwior, Tierney; Odegaard, Zinchenko, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard
EXPERT PREDICTION
Ipswich 0-3Arsenal
