Follow live coverage as Ipswich Town face Aston Villa today in the Premier League. Another top-flight season will be covered in full right here with The Independent, as reigning champions Manchester City look to make it an unprecedented five titles in a row come the end of 2024/25.
Villa have started the new campaign strongly after securing a top-four finish last term, with Unai Emery’s team winning four from five so far as well as beating Young Boys in the Champions League.
The Tractor Boys have meanwhile struggled to get going in the top flight, failing to win in their opening five games – though with three draws, they haven’t been overrun either. Follow all the team news and match updates in the live blog below as Ipswich host Aston Villa:
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League updates
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Ipswich: Muric, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis, Morsy, Phillips, Ogbene, Giraud-Hutchinson, Clarke, Delap
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Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins
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8′ GOAL! Liam Delap fires early opener for the hosts (IPS 1-0 AST)
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15’ GOAL! Morgan Rogers rattles in the equaliser with his first of the season (IPS 1-1 AST)
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31’ GOAL! Watkins heads in to put Villa in front (IPS 1-2 AST)
Ipswich Town FC 1 – 2 Aston Villa FC
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:20
Muric is alert to a long ball towards Watkins and rushes well out of his box to head it clear.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:18
Most of Ipswich’s play is coming down the left through Davis and Clarke, with the latter winning his side a corner. Phillips swings it in this time but Martinez can claim comfortably who throws it out quickly for a potential counter.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:17
Yellow Card Axel Tuanzebe
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:16
Rogers is getting frustrated here, as he’s constantly niggled at and brought down. Ipswich are doing well to keep him quiet since his goal.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:13
A good header on by Davis towards Clarke, but his shot inside the box is well blocked.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:09
Yellow Card Lucas Digne
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:08
Aston Villa get the second half started! Let’s hope for more of the same in the next 45 minutes…
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
15:03
Live win probability is currently favouring the away side, giving Aston Villa 73% chance of coming out on top, whilst Ipswich stand just a 7.7% chance of securing the win. Other stats would also point to Unai Emery’s side to be victorious – Aston Villa are unbeaten in their last 9 Premier League matches when leading at half-time (W7, D2), whilst Ipswich have a record of W0, D1, L1 when trailing at half-time in the Premier League this season.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:59
We go into the half-time break here in Ipswich after a rollercoaster 45 minutes so far. Aston Villa looked bound to be the first scorers, with Ipswich barely touching the ball in the opening stages. However, just with their first rush into the Villa half, the home side bagged an early lead through Delap. Aston Villa didn’t wait long to respond, as Rogers placed one into the bottom corner just seven minutes after the opener thanks to some lacklustre defending by Greaves. If Martinez didn’t cover himself in glory for Delap’s goal, he made a couple of notable and excellent saves since the goal, and his teammates rewarded his goalkeeping by taking the lead through Watkins. The Englishman headed past Muric from just a few yards after a great ball by Bailey. Aston Villa are leading on all fronts so far, with 0.67 xG compared to an xG of 0.47 for Ipswich, and also 64% of the play. Unai Emery will be the more pleased manager for sure, but McKenna will be optimistic from the chances his side has created.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:53
HALF-TIME: IPSWICH TOWN 1-2 ASTON VILLA
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:51
Yellow Card Liam Rory Delap
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:50
Yellow Card Samy Sayed Mekway Said Morsy
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:49
The fourth official puts up the board – three minutes of added time for Ipswich to try and equalise before the break.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:49
The Villa goalkeeper is back to his feet, presumably fine to continue, and play resumes.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:48
Martinez came to claim a cross, colliding with his own defender, and is down receiving treatment as a result.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:47
The home side swing in their third corner of the game through Davis but it’s headed clear by Konza.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:45
Ipswich with six shots to Villa’s four, and also having one more on target compared to the away side. If not for some Martinez heroics and a blunder at the back, Ipswich could be leading comfortably here, proving how fine the margin for error is in the Premier League!
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:42
ANOTHER TOP SAVE BY MARTINEZ! Some excellent build-up by Ipswich and Delap is through on goal with just Martinez to beat. Delap is bound to score, but for the studs of Martinez’ left boot! He spread himself so well there to deny it going into the bottom corner, and to keep Villa in the lead here.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:40
GOOD SAVE MARTINEZ! A cross into the Villa box is cleared out to Phillips, who catches his volleyed strike perfectly. Martinez matches it with an excellent save and parry, and the resulting corner comes to nothing.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:35
Assist Leon Patrick Bailey Butler
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:34
Phillips dispossesses Bailey near his box and helps Ipswich regain possession. Neither side is able to create any meaningful attacks in the last 10 minutes or so…
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:32
Villa with 63% possession so far, but creating very little to threaten Muric. The home side are proving to have quite the stubborn defence to try and break through since the equaliser.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:30
Great defending and strength there by Tuanzebe and he gives Rogers no chance to drive with the ball. Ipswich are containing any Villa attacks well so far.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:27
Some quick feet from Watkins and he wins his side a free-kick inside Ipswich’s half. The consequent cross by Digne is dealt with comfortably and Muric throws it out quickly to start an Ipswich attack.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:25
Ipswich are certainly having a say here after a slow start to the game. They’re keeping the ball a lot more comfortably and not providing much space for Villa’s danger men. If not for a mistake at the back that led to Villa’s goal, it’s been an excellent last 10 minutes for the home side.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:24
CHANCE FOR CLARKE! Brilliant build-up from the home side as Hutchinson drives forward with the ball. He plays it out wide to his full-back Davis, who delivers a great cross into the box. You’d argue it’s a sitter, as Clarke just needs to head it on target with the power behind the cross but he heads over Martinez, much to Villa’s relief!
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:18
Assist Oliver George Arthur Watkins
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:17
We should have predicted a quick start from the home side, as three of Ipswich’s four Premier League goals this season have come in the opening 15 minutes of matches.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:16
Torres is down holding his face with a palm to the head by an Ipswich defender, but he’s back up on his feet and play continues.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:15
Whilst Ipswich will be buzzing with the early lead, Villa have often come from behind already this season. So if you’re of Ipswich persuasion, this might be a long 80 minutes ahead…
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:12
Assist Jack Raymond Clarke
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:11
Goal Liam Rory Delap
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:10
Villa already looking the more likely to open the scoring, as they sustain pressure on the home defence by keeping the ball well in the Ipswich half in the opening stage here. 64% of the action has been in the Ipswich third already – the home side get a bit of respite though as Onana is deemed to have fouled Phillips.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:08
Tielemans with a bit of space, and he fancies his chances from 30 yards – his powerful attempt flies over Muric but Ipswich can’t afford to give the Belgian that much room with his striking prowess.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:06
Without their captain McGinn today, the midfielder may prove to be a bigger loss than expected. Under Unai Emery, his side average 1.6 pts/game and have a 43% win rate in the league without McGinn – this is compared to 1.9 pts/game and 59% win rate in the competition with the Scot. Can Ipswich make the most of his absence?
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
14:04
Ipswich Town get us underway!
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:58
The players are getting ready to step out onto the Portman Road pitch here in Ipswich…
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:53
Aston Villa only make one, presumably forced, change from their win against Wolves in the league, as injured John McGinn is replaced by Bailey today. Since Unai Emery’s first Aston Villa game in November 2022, only Erling Haaland (66) and Mohamed Salah (59) have been involved in more Premier League goals than Ollie Watkins (53 – 35 goals, 18 assists). The Englishman will be looking to build on his strong start to the league season so far, having already bagged three goals in five games.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:48
Kieran McKenna makes a few changes to his side from their last league outing against Southampton, with Phillips, Clarke and Ogbene coming in for Szmodics, Burns and Jens-Lys Cajuste. Putting a focus on Hutchinson starting again today, Ipswich will be looking for him to stop Aston Villa building play from deep – only Bournemouth’s Marcus Tavernier (197) has applied more pressures to opponents in the Premier League this season than him (196).
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:42
SUBS: Joe Gauci, Ian Maatsen, Kosta Nedeljkovic, Lamare Bogarde, Sil Swinkels, Emiliano Buendia, Ross Barkley, Jaden Philogene-Bidace, Jhon Duran
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:42
ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez; Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa; Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana; Jacob Ramsey, Morgan Rogers, Leon Bailey; Ollie Watkins
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:42
SUBS: Christian Walton, Ben Johnson, Conor Townsend, Conor Chaplin, Jack Taylor, Massimo Luongo, Sammie Szmodics, George Hirst, Wes Burns
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:42
IPSWICH TOWN (4-2-3-1): Arijanet Muric; Leif Davis, Jacob Greaves, Dara O’Shea, Axel Tuanzebe; Kalvin Phillips, Sam Morsy; Jack Clarke, Omari Hutchinson, Chiedozie Ogbene; Liam Delap
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:37
Hello and welcome to today’s coverage of matchday six of the 2024-25 Premier League season. In the first match of Sunday’s action, Ipswich Town face Aston Villa. Stay tuned for all the action as it happens.
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:37
On the flipside, the away team are in hot form right now and a win today would propel The Villans to joint-top with Liverpool on 15 points. Aston Villa manager, Unai Emery, also bodes a pretty impressive record when facing newly promoted sides. In 18 Premier League matches, he has a win percentage of 78% (W14 D2 L2), winning nine out of 10 as Villa boss including victory in all four away games. And being on the road won’t phase his current team either as they’ve won their first two away Premier League matches this season – only once in their league history have they opened a season with three away wins, doing so in 2020-21. Can they match that today?
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
13:37
This fixture introduces two teams in pretty contrasting form looking at their opening five games in the league. Ipswich Town come into the clash having drawn their last three games and are yet to record three points to their tally, leaving them sitting in the relegation zone at 18th place. The Tractor Boys last had a longer winless start to a top-flight season in 1982-83, in which it was their opening six games. They’ll be keen to rectify their recent form today, but history tells us that Villa may not be the ideal opponent to get their first win – Ipswich have won just one of their 10 Premier League games against Aston Villa (D2 L7), and that was back in 1994!
Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa
12:00
Follow all the goals and latest action from the Premier League here with The Independent. Team news and line-ups coming up shortly…