Ipswich vs Brighton prediction: Stalemate on the cards at Portman Road?

Brighton travel to Ipswich on Thursday looking for their first league win in nine matches dating back to 23 November, when they beat Bournemouth 2-1 (kick-off 7.30pm, TNT Sports and Discovery+).

Since then, they have lost two and drawn six, including their last four on the bounce against West Ham, Brentford, Aston Villa and Arsenal.

They did finally break that run in the FA Cup at the weekend when they won 4-0 at Championship side Norwich, to reach the fourth round, where they will face Chelsea at home.

This is their longest winless run since going 11 without victory from September to December 2021 under Graham Potter.

Their recent form has left them 11th in the table with 28 points and seven points off the top six.

Ipswich on the other hand sit in the bottom three with 16 points from their opening 20 games but they are still very much in touching distance of the teams around them.

Kieran McKenna’s side have won two and drawn one of their last three matches, including all three points against Chelsea when they won 2-0 and an FA Cup win over League One side Bristol Rovers.

They also drew 2-2 with Fulham, which is their seventh draw of the season, just three less than Brighton so a draw might be a good option here.

Football betting sites are offering 14/5 on a draw, 10/3 on a home win and Brighton as the favourites at 20/21 and we’re definitely favouring a draw.

When the sides met earlier in the season it ended all square, with neither side able to break the deadlock. That remains the Tractor Boys’ only goalless draw so far, while Brighton also finished nil-nil with Brentford almost three weeks ago.

Betting sites are offering 15/4 on a score draw and that would be our favoured option as we can’t see lightning striking twice between these two sides.

The last three meetings between these sides have finished level, with the two previous meetings when both sides were in the Championship back during the 2016/17 season finishing 0-0 at Portman Road and then 1-1 at the Amex.

Ipswich vs Brighton prediction 1: Draw - 14/5 Bet365

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