Chelsea v Ipswich match preview
One of the Premier League’s shocks this season was also considered a hope for the Blues champion and a potentially valuable victory in the tractor boys’ struggle against relegation when Ipswich Town beat Chelsea 2-0 on December 30.
Chelsea’s painful roster has long given them the main ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League, starting the weekend in fourth place, sixth from Manchester.
“That day, they were eager to score three points more than we did,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca recalled his team’s failure on Portman Road.
“I still remember this game and they defended it well even if we had a lot of chances to score. They were a very good team.”
grafting. #Cheips pic.twitter.com/rdcez9lopp
— Ipswichtown (@ipswichtown) April 10, 2025
Ipswich won the win with a two-point terror rate in 10 games, winning again only on April 2 at Bournemouth before being beaten by Wolves last Saturday, putting Kieran McKenna’s side on the brink of relegation.
“I’m still happy,” McKenna said, who was proposed by multiple clubs after his second straight promotion last season.
“This year is always a challenge. The facts will be a huge challenge and one of the reasons I want to stay.
“I think it’s the right thing to do. As I have a few times, the club has a wonderful bright future in many different ways.
“It’s a club, no matter what you might say a possible club – this year it’s probably going to say a possible. There’s still a lot of progress over the next few years, so I’m very happy to be in it.”
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Chelsea v Ipswich Team News
McKenna said top Ipswich scorer Liam Delap, who has ties to clubs including Chelsea, gave Wolves a “very heavy hit” and missed a training session this week.
Forward Omari Hutchinson missed the last two games in the town, and remains a question, while wingers Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene, forward Samuel Szmodics and goalkeeper Arijanet Muric are long-time absences.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana will miss the rest of the season after a hamstring surgery, but midfielder Romeo Lavia and forward Marc Guiu can return before the campaign ends.
Maresca may rotate his starting lineup after keeping the likes of Marc Cucurella, Levi Colwill, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caideo and Nicolas Jackson in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals.
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