Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion meet at Portman Road for the first time in Premier League history as they both look to kick-start their seasons after positive FA Cup performances.
After going nine matches without a home win this season, Ipswich have broken that seal with consecutive victories, beating Chelsea 2-0 and Bristol Rovers 3-0 in their FA Cup Third Round outing last week.
Brighton, meanwhile, ended an eight-match winless run with their emphatic 4-0 win at the Tractor Boys’ East Anglian rivals, Norwich City, last Saturday.
That result meant that the Seagulls have reached the FA Cup Fourth Round for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
Positive results for both teams mean that Kieran McKenna and Fabian Hürzeler, the two youngest managers in the Premier League, come into the second half of the season with renewed optimism.
Though both teams are dealing with injuries, a fine contest is in store in their latest meeting too.
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Team News
Head coach McKenna was able to use a host of fringe players in the Tractor Boys’ FA Cup tie, with the experiment paying off with a handsome win.
Massimo Luongo, Conor Townsend, Jack Taylor and Ali Al-Hamadi were handed rare starts, while Ben Godfrey got his first minutes since joining from Atalanta on loan and goalkeeper Cieran Slicker came off the bench too.
McKenna will be expected to return to type as attentions return to the Premier League, but some performances will have impressed him.
Having played 90 minutes for just the fourth time all season, Kalvin Phillips also scored his first goal in almost 13 months against Bristol Rovers and won praise from his manager.
“Kalvin’s in a good position, he’s growing in confidence and rhythm and he showed his quality in midfield,” said McKenna.
“He’s improving, growing in confidence and fitness, [is] understanding of his role and what we ask of him and he’s making good steps and progressing well.”
While McKenna will have a tough decision to choose between Phillips and Jens Cajuste to partner Sam Morsy in midfield, other decisions are made easier due to injuries.
Sammie Szmodics will be absent for this contest after picking up an ankle injury against Fulham, although McKenna said “it is not impossible” that Omari Hutchinson could play some part in the match after his recent adductor strain.
Jack Clarke and Nathan Broadhead are expected to start the game instead.
Elsewhere, Axel Tuanzebe (thigh) and Conor Chaplin (knee) are only expected to return in February while Chiedozie Ogbene is ruled out for the season with an Achilles tear.
The treatment table continues to operate with a revolving door at Brighton, where as soon as two players return, two more are ruled out.
Mats Wieffer and Evan Ferguson were the pair to rejoin training this week following thigh and ankle issues respectively, but after the Norwich match, Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh required treatment.
In attack, Danny Welbeck is available to start after making his return off the bench at Carrow Road, and there will be a late call on João Pedro.
“He's training with the team and then we can decide if we'll take the risk to play him,” said Hürzeler.
“What's most important is how the player feels. We won't do any stupid things; we have to wait until after the training session. We can't forget that he's still a very young player.”
The negative news this week was that centre-back Igor Julio was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing hamstring surgery, with the Seagulls now reduced to three senior centre-backs.
Of those, Lewis Dunk has been passed fit for the Ipswich game.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu and James Milner remain long-term absentees, and Jack Hinshelwood and Tariq Lamptey are close to returning but are unlikely to start.
There could, however, be a debut for Diego Gómez after the Paraguayan midfielder completed a third week of training following his January transfer.
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Likely Lineups
Walton; O’Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves; Johnson, Morsy, Phillips, Davis; Clarke, Broadhead; Delap
Verbruggen; Veltman, van Hecke, Webster, Estupiñán; Baleba, Ayari; Gruda, Enciso, Mitoma; Welbeck
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Key Players
Ipswich – Sam Morsy
While McKenna has a decision to make between Phillips and Cajuste, the permanent presence of Ipswich’s midfield is captain Sam Morsy.
After several years operating at League One and Championship level, 33-year-old Morsy has been a bedrock of Ipswich’s back-to-back promotions and their Premier League evolution.
The Egypt international has played 90 minutes in 17 of the Tractor Boys’ 20 Premier League matches this season, maintaining a pass completion rate of 87.9%, the best of any Ipswich player.
Interestingly, his second-lowest pass completion rate of the season came in the 0-0 draw at Brighton in September.
This was also the only game when Morsy has been substituted before the 90th minute, with Luongo replacing him after 85 minutes at The Amex Stadium.
Morsy also lost both tackles he attempted that afternoon, with the Seagulls unlucky that they did not capitalise on a dominant performance with the ball.
With McKenna and Morsy having no doubt learned from that afternoon, they will be keen to prove they can not just hold their own against Brighton, but also control a match at home.
The Egyptian will be key to the foothold Ipswich create in the game, and with a combination of Brighton’s number 10s to deal with – potentially Julio Enciso, Yasin Ayari or Matt O’Riley – will have his hands full all night.
Brighton – Julio Enciso
On the flipside to Morsy’s role, Brighton will hope they can take the upper hand through the mercurial Enciso.
The Paraguayan attacker continues to divide opinion at the club, with critics often citing his low goalscoring output.
There is truth in this argument, with the 20-year-old having 36 shots in all competitions this season, taking a shot on average every 16.11 minutes played.
Indeed, his eight shots in the first 45 minutes against Brentford were the most in a single half of Premier League football since Luis Suárez against Aston Villa in March 2013.
Before Enciso netted Brighton’s third goal at Norwich on Saturday, all 35 of his shots had not resulted in a goal.
The manner of his strike at Carrow Road – curling a low shot past George Long when Rutter was on as an option in the middle – showed the confidence running through the young forward, however.
‘La Joya’ will never be afraid to shoot, and with both Rutter and Pedro unavailable in this meeting, Brighton will keep encouraging him to do so.
Accuracy is the key, and the Seagulls will hope he has got his eye in now.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
The contest will be played at Portman Road, where Brighton have not been visitors since September 2016 in a 0-0 draw.
The last time a top-division meeting between the two sides was hosted in Suffolk, the Tractor Boys came out 2-0 winners in January 1983.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off is at 7:30pm on Thursday 16 January 2025, with the game being one of just two Premier League matches on the evening alongside Manchester United vs. Southampton.
How can I watch?
UK viewers can tune into the game on TNT Sports or Discovery+, provided they have a subscription to either service.
Highlights of the game will be available to all audiences via the TNT Sports YouTube channel and both clubs’ YouTube accounts in the hours after full-time.
