Manchester City vs Ipswich Town has not appeared on a Premier League matchday card in over two decades. This is a game that many will be excited to watch, bearing in mind that the last clash between both sides came back in 2002.
Times and seasons have changed since that time which will excite long-term fans of the Manchester-based side who last witnessed both teams face off in 2002. Ipswich were in a much better place than City at the time despite getting relegated from the league that season.
The last time both teams played, Pep Guardiola was still an active player, Erling Haaland was still a toddler and Kevin De Bruyne had just entered his developmental phases at Genk in Belgium. City has since enjoyed significant investment in their club which has brought about an era of success which is rivalled by only that of Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
This match has a clear outcome, but fans will still flood the Etihad because of the history that will be made when both teams meet once again after over two decades.
Keep reading for match ticket information, team news, match previews and match predictions.
Ticket information
Manchester City vs Ipswich Town match tickets are already on sale on the websites of both clubs. If you are a registered fan of either club, you will get priority access when you log on to your club’s website to buy a ticket. This means that tourist fans or visiting fans who want to enjoy a Premier League atmosphere have only one option when looking to buy tickets: getting them from a trusted ticket reselling platform.
The tickets are available on seatsnet.com where fans go to dispose of their tickets for fair prices and organisations go to sell excess tickets to cut their losses. A search for Manchester City vs Ipswich Town tickets should turn up multiple ticket options.
The game will be played on Saturday 24 August 2024 at 3 PM UK time. It will not be broadcast live for fans in the UK. Tickets are selling fast.
Team news
Manchester City are linked to several players including Barcelona target Dani Olmo, whose performances at the 2024 Euros caught the eyes of many teams. He is believed to be an option in case De Bruyne leaves but recently, reports have played down the Belgian midfielder’s exit as rumours only. The Saudi deal is still on his table, however, and it is also understood that his wife is considering the move because she wants to have an “exotic adventure”. If he puts family first, then Olmo will be a good option.
Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimarães is a long-term target for City, but there is no indication that they will finally convince the Magpies to let go of their prized asset this summer. Currently, the only new addition to Guardiola’s team is Savio, but the Brazilian winger will be more than enough to take on the current iteration of Ipswich when they visit the Etihad.
Meanwhile, Ipswich Town are acting like the typical newly-promoted team. They are making all the signings they can make and enquiring about a lot more ahead of the 2024/25 season.
At the time of writing, they have secured the services of Omari Hutchinson, Ben Johnson, Jacob Greaves, Arijanet Muric and Manchester City’s Liam Delap (Manchester City, £15m).
McKenna will have surely added some grey hairs after the baptism of fire he is receiving in his first full season as a top-flight manager. The 38-year-old’s in-game management tactics are good, however, and his new players look bright.
Here are the teams we expect to line up for both sides on that day:
Manchester City: Ortega; Gvardiol, Akanji, Dias, Ake; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bobb; Grealish, Haaland, Savio.
Ipswich Town: Walton; Davis, Burgess, Woolfenden, Tuanzebe; Morsy, Luongo; Hutchinson, Chaplin, Bruns; Hirst.
Match preview
Manchester City vs Ipswich Town on matchday 2 of the Premier League 2024/25 season is a game that pits two sides with history against each other. Both teams are almost evenly matched, with Ipswich just edging the Cityzens in officially recognised head-to-head wins (28 wins to 23 for City).
As alluded to, however, times and seasons have changed since their last league meeting in 2002, which means fans of the Tractor Boys should not expect to play a game that is on the same level as the four-time Premier League Champions in the last four seasons. McKenna is a progressive manager with tactics that are heavily inspired by Pep Guardiola, but as the veteran Spaniard has shown, he remains the original and rarely can the copies usurp him.
This is a game that will be heavily attended for the history present between both teams and not for the possibility – though it exists – of an upset happening. It is also the first home match of the champions (and champions-elect) in the new season, which means there will be a ceremony of sorts to mark the start of their title defence.
Unfortunately, the match will not be streamed to fans in the UK, but fans outside the country can watch the game on official Premier League broadcast partners who have licences to show the game.
This means that fans will be all over the websites of both clubs to buy tickets for the game. Thanks to ticket reseller platforms like seatsnet.com, all fans have an equal shot at attending the game live.
Prediction
One thing we are sure of is that the game will be a physical one. Championship sides are known to apply physicality in their bid to stifle the creativity and technicality of the true blue top flight sides. Ipswich also has a defined play style which means they will try to create situations for themselves.
We predict, however, that they will play a lot more conservatively so that they will not fall into Guardiola’s trap.
However, the defending champions will take this one comfortably.
Manchester City 3-0 Ipswich Town.
