Newcastle have the chance to move a step closer to promotion to the Premier League as the Magpies visit midtable Ipswich on Monday afternoon.
Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich are currently 15th in the Championship table with very little to play for this season. The Tractor Boys form has been inconsistent of late, as the home side have won two, drew two and lost two of their last six league outings.
The side from Suffolk are unbeaten in six Championship games at Portman Road, although five of those games have finished in draws. Four of Ipswich’s last five home games in the second tier have produced under 2.5 goals.
Despite those recent low-scoring home games, there has been over 2.5 goals scored in Town’s last three outings in the top-flight.
Newcastle will kick-off this game in second position, eight points clear of third-place Huddersfield Town in the race for promotion. A win would take Rafa Benitez’s team close to a return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
However, an away win is by no means a foregone conclusion, as the Magpies have won just two of their last seven games in the Championship. Both of those wins have come on home soil. Benitez’s side have failed to win any of their last three away games, drawing twice and losing once.
The visitors have a very good recent record against Ipswich, having lost just one of the last 14 meetings with the Tractor Boys in all competitions. The side from the north east have also scored at least two goals in their last four meetings with Ipswich in all competitions.
Newcastle’s recent form has not been great, but neither has Ipswich’s form of late. Forebet predicts that the Magpies will pick up a vital win in Suffolk.