Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Featured Offer

bet365

Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets

Claim Offer →

Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. Time limits and T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org #ad

Pierre Sage is building something at Selhurst Park. Two wins on the bounce in all competitions, a comeback victory at Craven Cottage that had Thomas Tuchel watching from the stands, and now the chance to string together back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since December 2025. The Eagles are finding their feet under their new gaffer, and Saturday afternoon feels like a genuine opportunity to push on. Standing in their way are an Ipswich Town side that showed real promise after winning promotion from the Championship but have since been torn apart by Manchester United and Liverpool in successive weeks. Three points from three games, eight goals shipped, and a defensive record that makes grim reading. Something has to give at Selhurst Park, and the smart money says it will be the Tractor Boys’ backline.

This is a fixture with real momentum on one side and genuine fragility on the other. Palace are buzzing, Ipswich are leaking goals at a rate that would concern any Premier League manager, and Gary O’Neil still has not managed to beat the Eagles in five previous attempts as a top-flight boss. The stage is set for a lively afternoon in South London.

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Match Details

Crystal Palace host Ipswich Town at Selhurst Park on Saturday 12th September 2026, with kickoff scheduled for 3:00pm. The fixture is a Premier League matchday four encounter, with both sides desperate for points after mixed starts to the new campaign.

Team News

Palace are carrying a few injury concerns but Sage has enough quality to put out a strong side. After rotating heavily for the midweek EFL Cup win over Middlesbrough, he will be looking to bring his first-choice players back into the fold.

• Chadi Riad (knee), Jean-Philippe Mateta (thigh) and Ismaila Sarr (groin) are all unavailable through injury, though Sarr is expected back in training early next week.
• Cheick Doucoure could return to the matchday squad after missing the cup tie through illness. He had been on the bench at Craven Cottage and is reportedly fine now.
• Adam Wharton, Daichi Kamada, Yeremy Pino and Eddie Nketiah are all pushing to come back into the starting eleven after being rotated in midweek.
• Anan Khalaili is set to return at right wing-back. He leads the entire Premier League for tackles and true tackles attempted this season, which tells you everything about the energy he brings.
• Tyrick Mitchell, who scored twice at Fulham, should continue at left wing-back. No defender in the division has had more touches in the opposition box than him so far this season.

For Ipswich, O’Neil is short on options in a few areas.

• Jaden Philogene (ankle), Azor Matusiwa (muscle) and Jack Taylor (knee) are all ruled out and continue their recoveries.
• New signing Zian Flemming could be handed a start up front, which might put Emersonn under pressure for his place in the side.
• Julio Enciso has attempted more shots than any other Premier League player this season without finding the net, twelve attempts and counting. He is expected to keep his place in an advanced central role.

Predicted Lineups

Sage looks set to name a much stronger side after resting players for Tuesday night. The likely shape sees Dean Henderson in goal behind a back three of Canvot, Disais and Richards, with Khalaili and Mitchell providing the wing-back energy on either side. Wharton and Timber in the middle gives Palace a solid midfield platform, with Kamada and Pino ahead of them to supply the creativity. Strand Larsen leads the line up top.

O’Neil will probably stick with what he knows. Scherpen starts in goal, with O’Shea, Diop, Greaves and Davis across the back four. Palacios and Lukic in central midfield, Fatawu and Maeda wide, and Enciso in the hole behind Emersonn. Whether Flemming forces his way in is the main selection dilemma for the Tractor Boys boss, but do not expect wholesale changes from O’Neil.

Recent Form

Palace were awful at the start of this season. Two defeats, no goals scored, and a sense that the new manager was still trying to work out what he had inherited. Then came Fulham away, and everything shifted. Going behind twice and still coming back to win 3-2 is not just a result, it is a statement about character. Tyrick Mitchell producing a goal in each half before Ben Chilwell scored with his very first touch after coming off the bench is the kind of story that galvanises a dressing room. The nine-game winless run in the Premier League is over, the players believe in what Sage is building, and the midweek 3-0 cup win over Middlesbrough kept that momentum ticking along nicely.

The one concern for Palace fans is that their home record has been patchy. Only Tottenham have collected fewer home points than the Eagles among ever-present Premier League clubs in 2026, with just eleven points on the board at Selhurst Park. That is a stat Sage will be well aware of and will want to address urgently. A win on Saturday would go a long way toward fixing that narrative.

Ipswich started the season with a gritty 2-1 win over Sunderland, coming from behind to nick it late on and showing the kind of never-say-die attitude that served them well in the Championship. But the wheels have come off since then. A 5-2 mauling by Manchester United and then a 2-0 home defeat to Liverpool, both goals conceded inside the first nine minutes at Portman Road, have exposed some serious problems at the back. O’Neil called it big mistakes being punished by world-class players, which is fair enough, but the pattern of giving goals away early and conceding in bunches is a real concern. Eight goals conceded from three games puts them joint top of the unwanted chart alongside Palace.

Head-to-Head Record

These two sides have not met since March 2025, when a late Ismaila Sarr goal settled a tight contest 1-0 at Selhurst Park. Palace actually won both of their Premier League encounters with Ipswich in the 2024-25 season, both by a 1-0 scoreline, and they have not beaten the Tractor Boys in three successive league games since February 1995. That is a streak Sage will be keen to end on Saturday.

From O’Neil’s perspective, his personal record against Palace makes for uncomfortable reading. Five Premier League meetings as a manager, one draw and four defeats, with his teams conceding at least two goals in every single one of those games. That consistency of underperformance against one specific opponent is something you cannot ignore when assessing how Saturday might unfold.

Key Stats

• Ipswich are in the middle of their longest ever top-flight run without a clean sheet, now standing at 22 games. In that period they have shipped 57 goals at a rate of 2.6 per match.
• Only Crystal Palace and Fulham have a higher expected goals against total than Ipswich this season, meaning the underlying numbers suggest this Tractor Boys defensive crisis has plenty of room to continue.
• Gary O’Neil has never beaten Crystal Palace in five Premier League meetings as a manager, with his sides conceding at least twice in every one of those encounters.

Crystal Palace vs Ipswich Town Betting Tips

The betting angle here is pretty clear. Two sides with serious defensive vulnerabilities, Palace carrying real attacking momentum, and Ipswich showing no signs of solving their clean-sheet problem. The goals market is where the value lives for this one, and there are some smart angles across the various markets if you pick your spots carefully.

Both Teams To Score (BTTS) Prediction

Yes. Ipswich have not kept a clean sheet in 22 top-flight games and are shipping goals at a frightening rate. Palace have conceded in two of their three league games too. Both back lines look shaky, and with attacking quality on both sides, goals at both ends feels extremely likely here.

Over & Under Goals Prediction

Over 2.5 goals looks a near-certainty given what we have seen from both sides. Palace scored three at Fulham, Ipswich conceded five to United. The xGA numbers for both clubs are among the worst in the division. Back over 2.5, and if you are feeling bold, over 3.5 is not without merit either.

Correct Score Prediction

3-2 to Crystal Palace. It might feel like a big scoreline but it reflects the attacking output Palace showed at Craven Cottage and the inability of Ipswich to shut games out. A fast, open, goal-heavy game at Selhurst Park with the Eagles coming out on top feels right.

First Goalscorer Prediction

Tyrick Mitchell is in the form of his life right now. Two goals at Fulham in one of the most memorable away performances Palace have produced in years, and no defender in the Premier League has more touches in the opposition box than him this season. He pushes forward with real intent from left wing-back and is absolutely worth a look in the first scorer market at what should be a generous price for a defender.

Corners Prediction

Over 9.5 corners looks appealing. Palace like to get wide through their wing-backs and deliver into the box, while Ipswich push men forward and leave space behind them, which tends to generate transitions and set pieces at both ends. Expect a high-tempo game with plenty of deliveries into the box from both sides.

Cards Prediction

Over 3.5 cards is worth considering. Ipswich have been rattled in their last two games and can be a bit niggly when things are going against them. Palace press with energy under Sage and that tends to draw fouls. The combination of a desperate Ipswich side and a confident Palace outfit pressing them hard should produce a few bookings across the ninety minutes.

Bet Builder Tip

Combine Crystal Palace to win, both teams to score, and over 9.5 corners for your bet builder. Palace have the firepower and the home advantage to take the three points, Ipswich’s attacking players are capable of finding a goal even when things are going against them, and the wide play from both sides should generate plenty of corner kicks throughout the game.

Final Match Prediction

Crystal Palace 3-2 Ipswich Town. Sage gets his first Premier League win on home soil, extending the winning run to three games in all competitions and pushing Palace up the table. It will not be a clean or comfortable afternoon, because neither of these sides are particularly strong defensively right now, but the Eagles have enough quality in the final third to make the difference.

Ipswich will cause problems. They have real attacking talent and they are not the kind of side that rolls over. But until O’Neil solves the defensive issues, they are going to keep conceding goals at a rate that makes wins very hard to come by. Palace are in the right moment at the right time, and Selhurst Park should be rocking by full time.

Featured Offer

bet365

Bet £10 Get £30 in Free Bets

Claim Offer →

Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Registration required. Time limits and T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org #ad