Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest: Premier League Predictions and Insights
Seven games into a Premier League season, the table still lies now and then. Form flickers, fixture lists play tricks, a deflection here or a red card there warps the picture. Even so, Ipswich in 10th and Nottingham Forest in 19th is not the script many had in mind.
Portman Road, though, has changed the conversation.
Ipswich: sharper, harder, ahead of schedule
Ipswich have been ruthless enough at home to make their point. They already own more home wins than in their entire last top-flight campaign two years ago, when relegation felt almost baked in by spring. They now have three league victories in total – the same as Liverpool up in fifth. That alone underlines how quickly Gary O’Neil has dragged them into the realm of the serious.
This is not about swagger. It’s about edge. Ipswich compete in every duel, defend with a snarl, and squeeze just enough quality from key moments. In this stretch of the season, that matters more than any aesthetic argument.
O’Neil’s team news helps his case. Sasa Lukic, who missed the 3-2 defeat at Manchester City with a minor groin problem, is expected to return and should walk straight back into midfield alongside Exequiel Palacios. That pairing gives Ipswich control and bite; if there’s any late hitch, Florentino Luis and Azor Matusiwa are waiting, but the plan is clear.
Jack Taylor remains sidelined with a knee injury and is yet to play this season, so the rotation options in the middle stay limited. Out wide, Abdul Fatawu is back from suspension and instantly turns up the competition. Daizen Maeda is the man under pressure for that starting berth, his place no longer secure with Fatawu’s direct running back in the frame.
Tactically, O’Neil’s hand is almost forced by his own success. At the Etihad he switched to a back three and liked what he saw. It gave Ipswich a platform to counter while still offering a solid screen in front of their box. There is every reason to stick with it.
That would mean Leif Davis and Abdoul Ouattara continuing as wing-backs, stretching the pitch and pinning Forest’s full-backs without leaving their centre-halves exposed. At home, against a side short on confidence and short on goals, that shape feels assertive rather than negative. Ipswich can crowd their own box when they need to, but they can also spring forward with numbers. Portman Road has started to feel awkward again for visiting sides. Forest arrive knowing that.
Forest: numbers ugly, questions loud
Forest’s story under Oliver Glasner has a very different tone. Rhythm has been elusive. The numbers are unforgiving: five points on the board, a goal difference of -4, and not a single goal in four home matches. That is why they set off for Suffolk second from bottom. There is no soft focus available here.
They travel with issues at both ends of the pitch. In attack, Igor Jesus is out until the end of the month with a calf injury, leaving Liam Delap as the likely central striker. Chris Wood stands by as cover, but the responsibility, the running, the pressing, the finishing – that all falls on Delap.
Behind him, Forest’s creative hub has been missing. Morgan Gibbs-White sat out the defeat to Arsenal with a muscle problem, yet Glasner suggested he was close to returning. If he is fit, he starts. No debate. Forest badly need someone who can knit together midfield and attack, who can take the ball on the half-turn and drag them up the pitch. Gibbs-White is that player.
His inclusion would allow James McAtee to drop a line deeper, where he can help progression from midfield. If Gibbs-White does not make it, Nicolas Dominguez is expected to keep his place, but the dynamic is different. Forest become more functional, less inventive, and that has already cost them in the final third this season.
Defensively, there is at least a hint of good news. Nikola Milenkovic returned to the matchday squad against Arsenal after recovering from a knee bone bruise. Glasner is likely to manage his minutes carefully, but his presence alone gives Forest another experienced option as they try to tighten up. Nicolo Savona, though, remains a long-term absentee with a knee injury and has not played since January, so the back line still lacks full depth.
Delap’s return: familiar ground, different colours
The personal subplot is obvious and sharp. Liam Delap walks back into Portman Road, a ground where he previously made a strong impression before his move away. Those memories linger. So does the feeling that this is a stage he understands.
For Forest, he has offered flashes rather than a full, sustained storm, but the potential impact is clear. He scored the opener in their 2-1 win at Aston Villa, a reminder of what happens when his timing and confidence align. He runs channels, he chases lost causes, he forces defenders to turn. Against an Ipswich side likely to defend with numbers yet still commit bodies forward, the space in transition is tailor-made for him.
If Ipswich’s wing-backs push high and their back three spreads to cover the width, the gaps for a direct ball into Delap’s path will be there. One clean run, one slip from a centre-half, and the narrative of his return changes from sentimental footnote to match-defining moment.
A table that might be lying to someone
So where does that leave the prediction? Pulled in two directions.
Ipswich have the points, the home advantage, and a dressing room that feels settled and sure of itself. They know what they are, and they know what Portman Road can be on a Friday night under the lights.
Forest, though, can point to stronger underlying metrics, performances that suggest there is more in this team than the league table admits. If Gibbs-White comes back, their attack instantly looks more coherent. If Milenkovic can add stability, the soft concessions might start to dry up.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST on Friday, October 23 at Portman Road. By full-time, one of these sides could look badly miscast by their current league position.
The question is simple: who has been lying to the table – Ipswich, Forest, or, in its own unpredictable way, the Premier League itself?
