The Premier League start has not been brilliant for Liverpool who have two draws, while Ipswich have one win and one loss.
There are four teams that have a full pot so far, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and surprise team Hull City. – At the opposite end of the table after two rounds, Aston Villa, Coventry, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Tottenham have not been able to pick up any points so far.
Read: Crushing Manchester United’s dream of spectacular Harry Kane signing
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Premier League – Round 3
📅 Date: 4 September 2026
⏰ Kick-off: 20:00
🏟️ Arena: Portman Road
👨 ⚖️ Referee: D. England
🔥 Can Ipswich surprise?
Zian Flemming’s £20m arrival from Burnley has been described as “very important” by Gary O’Neil. Now the Dutchman will help Ipswich back on the winning track when Liverpool visit Portman Road on Friday.
O’Neil praises both Emersonn and Chuba Akpom for their efforts, but admits that the team “had to have a third” striker. In Flemming, they have got a goal guarantee – the 28-year-old netted 11 times for Burnley in the Premier League last season and has already scored three goals in four games in the Championship this year.
“He has scored Premier League goals for a newly promoted team before. He is an excellent addition and creates more competition for places,” says O’Neil.
“He has physical attributes, is a good boy, leads from the front and trains hard. It is important to recruit the right type of person.
Ipswich started the season with a 2-1 win at home to Sunderland, but were given a reality check away to Manchester United (2-5) on Sunday.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have opened Andoni Iraola’s regime with two 2-2 draws – away to Newcastle and at home to Nottingham Forest.
🧠 Iraola: “Must score first”
“Ipswich have started well,” says Iraola. “Although the result against United may suggest otherwise, they were probably the better team in the first half until United equalised 2-1.
“The game became more open, and they had to take risks. They played very well, so we have to be well prepared.
“I want to focus on scoring first – everything will be easier then. We have practically lost 90 percent of the minutes this season because we concede far too early goals.
📰 Team news
Ipswich
- Emersonn (knee) is “in great shape” after an unfortunate landing at Old Trafford
- Jaden Philogene (hamstring) nears comeback
- Azor Matusiwa (muscle) and Jack Taylor (knee) are out
Liverpool
- Bradley Barcola (€123m from PSG) could get his first start – Iraola says Frenchman has trained well but lacks match practice
- Joe Gomez (muscle) is expected back in training next week
- Federico Chiesa (muscle) and Giovanni Leoni (knee) are expected back in October
- Conor Bradley (knee) and Hugo Ekitike (Achilles) are still out
📋 Predicted starting line-ups
| Ipswich (4-2-3-1) | Liverpool (4-2-3-1) |
|---|---|
| Kjell Scherpen | Alisson |
| Dara O’Shea | Jeremie Frimpong |
| Issa Diop | Jeremy Jacquet |
| Jacob Greaves | Virgil van Dijk (K) |
| Leif Davis | Milos Kerkez |
| Exequiel Palacios | Alexis Mac Allister |
| Sasa Lukic | Ryan Gravenberch |
| Abdul Fatawu | Victor Munoz |
| Julio Enciso | Florian Wirtz |
| Daizen Maeda | Cody Gakpo |
| Zian Flemming | Alexander Isak |
📊 Key statistics
- Ipswich have lost their last four Premier League games against Liverpool with a combined 17-1 goal difference
- The Tractor Boys are unbeaten in their last 18 home games in the league – 17 in the Championship and the win against Sunderland
- Abdul Fatawu has created the most chances (5), played the most passes into the box (9) and won the most duels (14) of any Ipswich player
- Liverpool are unbeaten in 20 straight Premier League games against newly promoted teams (15 wins, 5 draws)
- The Reds could concede at least two goals in each of their first three games for the second time since 2012/13
- Florian Wirtz has made 11 passes breaking through the defensive line – only Bruno Fernandes (13) has more
- Alexander Isak has four goals in two games against Ipswich – including a hat-trick at Portman Road in 2024/25
📈 Last Five Results
| Ipswich | Liverpool |
|---|---|
| Manchester United 5-2 Ipswich (T) | Liverpool 2–2 Nottingham Forest (U) |
| Ipswich 2-1 Sunderland (S) | Newcastle 2–2 Liverpool (U) |
| (Championship 2025/26) | Liverpool 1–1 Brentford (U) |
| – | Aston Villa 2-4 Liverpool (S) |
| – | Liverpool 1–1 Chelsea (U) |
Kick-off: Friday 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT)
🔮 Match prediction
Ipswich 1–1 Liverpool
Ipswich gave Manchester United a real scare on Sunday, and Liverpool have looked vulnerable in the transfer phase under Iraola. Expect goals from both teams – and another draw for the Reds – as both teams may be focusing on closing the backroom in the third round.
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