If making pre-season guesses about how the Premier League table might look after seven games, it would have been reasonable to suggest one of these teams would be 10th and the other 19th.
That’s how it’s played out although not in the order the vast majority would have predicted. Ipswich already have more home wins than they did when being relegated from the top flight two seasons ago and three victories overall is the same amount as fifth-placed Liverpool.
By contrast, Oliver Glasner has found the early going tough at Nottingham Forest after making the switch from Crystal Palace. The Trees haven’t managed a single goal in their four home matches and a tally of just five points and a goal difference of -4 puts them second bottom going into this Friday night clash at Portman Road.
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest kick-off time
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest kicks off at 8pm BST on Friday, October 23 at Portman Road.
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest: how to watch
The game will be shown live in the UK via Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage starting from 7.30pm.
TalkSPORT will provide full match radio commentary.
Ipswich team news
Sasa Lukic missed the 3-2 defeat at Manchester City with a slight groin problem but is expected to be available for Friday.
That would restore his midfield partnership with Exequiel Palacios. Florentino Luis and Azor Matusiwa are the alternatives.
Jack Taylor (knee) remains out and has yet to play this season. Abdul Fatawu is back after serving a one-match suspension and is pushing Daizen Maeda for a wide spot.
Ipswich boss Gary O’Neil switched to a back three at City, and keeping it would give Leif Davis and Abdoul Ouattara the wing-back roles.
Nottingham Forest team news
Igor Jesus (calf) is out until the end of the month, leaving former Ipswich frontman, Liam Delap, as the lone striker with Chris Wood as cover.
Morgan Gibbs-White sat out the Arsenal defeat with a muscle problem, but Glasner said the England midfielder was close to playing and perhaps being held back with Ipswich in mind.
If Gibbs-White is fit, he plays behind Delap and James McAtee drops into midfield; if not, Nicolas Dominguez keeps his place.
Nikola Milenkovic didn’t feature but was back in the matchday squad against Arsenal after a knee bone bruise and may be eased into the side here.
Nicolo Savona (knee) remains a long-term absentee and hasn’t played since for Forest since January.
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest odds
Despite being second bottom, Nottingham Forest are 6/5 favourites to bank all three points.
POPULAR ON FOOTBALL365
Hosts Ipswich are 2/1 to secure their third home win of the campaign, while The Draw is 11/4.
In the relegation betting, Ipswich are 5/2 to go down while Forest are 15/2 for the drop.
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest prediction
Based on the table and points accrued so far, it’s a surprise to see Forest as such clear favourites – especially with Ipswich having home advantage.
This one could come down to how much store you put in xG.
Forest are actually ranked fourth for xPTS, the figures suggesting they’re a whopping seven points down on what’s expected. In terms of goals, they have an xG of -6.5.
In other words, there are grounds to believe that their results are not a fair reflection, something that was surely the case when they dominated Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park but lost 3-1.
But for those putting far more faith in actual results rather than underlying numbers, Ipswich look a mouthwatering price at 2/1.
In truth, the evidence looks conflicting so perhaps the Draw at 11/4 is best.
As for the goalscorer markets, Liam Delap was a big hit at Ipswich before his biggish-money move to Chelsea. Now in the red of Nottingham Forest, he’s had his moments and scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Back on familiar turf at Portman Road, back Delap to score anytime at 2/1. Combining the two selections for a Bet Builder, Delap to score in a draw pays 10/1.
