The two biggest summer 2024 net spenders in English football clash for the first time in the Premier League. It does not get any easier for Ipswich who have already faced first and second in the league and now third in the form of Brighton.
A small sample size to go off but Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton have looked the business so far, picking up an impressive seven points from nine, with Hurzeler carrying off the Manager of the Month award for August. They will undoubtably pose another tough test for Ipswich.
Town put in a strong performance at home to Fulham prior to the international break. The Tractor Boys were unlucky to not come away with all three points after a really positive second half. This should give the Blues plenty of confidence they belong at this level.
Albion also drew in their final pre-international break match in a more impressive fashion at the Emirates. Following Declan Rice's red card early in the second half, Albion came back to level but may feel they should have gone on to win the game given the man advantage. However, not many teams will be picking up points away at the Gunners.
Kieran McKenna will be keen to show why turning down the Seagulls to sign a new long-term contract with the Blue Army was the correct decision. He will attempt to upset the odds and help Ipswich secure their first win of the season.
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Open Game
Both teams like to play football on the front foot and are aggressive, looking to get plenty of bodies forward in attack, which can leave vulnerabilities when defending transitions. Everything hints towards there being goals and it should be an exciting watch.
Against Manchester United, especially in the second half, the Seagulls were extremely open and if Ipswich can take their decision making and final pass up a notch then there will be opportunities for them to hurt Brighton.
On the other hand, the Tractor Boys' backline did have a tough day at the office against Liverpool and Manchester City. The depth and quality of Brighton's attack is only a notch below both these teams and the Blues' defensive unit will have to be on top form to keep the Seagulls quiet, especially the in-form Joao Pedro.
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Midfield Battle
Midfield is one area of the pitch the Seagulls are lacking in numbers. Matt O'Riley and James Milner are guaranteed to be out with injuries for the fixture on Saturday.
Mats Wieffer is in contention and could be involved tomorrow and Jacob Moder is also in the frame to be involved but has not played a lot of football in recent times and picked up his first minutes of the season off the bench for Poland during the international break.
Carlos Baleba, who has made a strong start to the season, will almost certainly start and there is a strong chance Yasin Ayari could partner him.
Baleba and Ayari are both extremely young at 20 and lack the experience of Town's double pivot in the form of Kalvin Phillips and Sam Morsy. The physical duo of Morsy and Phillips showed glimpses of their potential in a strong second half showing against Fulham and will be looking to take control in the middle of the park again on Saturday.
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Attacking strength and depth
Attacking stalwarts under McKenna's Blues, George Hirst and Wes Burns, are in contention to be involved tomorrow which could be a gamechanger and will provide a new dimension to Ipswich's bench.
Town now have two strong options available in each attacking position: left wing - Sammie Szmodics / Jack Clarke, centre attacking midfield - Omari Hutchinson / Conor Chaplin, right wing - Chiedozie Ogbene / Wes Burns, striker - Liam Delap / George Hirst.
Ipswich often relied on game changers off the bench during the Championship. However, in the Premier League so far they have not had the same quality of options available to fully capitalise and make a difference.
The Seagulls are even more stacked in attack and have an overload of top quality attacking midfielders. Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Brian Gruda (doubt) and Julio Enciso shows off the array of options they have there and that is not to forget their dynamic wing threats in Kaoru Mitoma and Yakuba Minteh.
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Brighton's model is an aspiration to follow
A lot respect has to be shown to how well Tony Bloom runs Brighton and it feels a lot like Ipswich are on a similar trajectory with ambitious owners, good structure and a strong recruitment policy. Albion are now an established Premier League side who no longer have relegation fears; if the Blues are able to stay up there is potential for them to replicate the success of Albion.
The Tractor Boys have kept almost all of their recruitment domestically focused so far, and if they stay up then they can set the foundations in place to expand their scouting unit and take the next step forward by exploring the world transfer market for young talented profiles, much like Brighton have done so successfully in recent years.
