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West Bromwich Albion welcome Ipswich Town to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon in a Championship meeting that matters for both ends of the table, just in very different ways. West Brom are trying to finish a bruising season with some momentum after slipping into 18th place, while Ipswich arrive sitting second and still chasing promotion business at the sharp end.
For James Morrison’s side, the equation is simple enough: keep their recent revival going, protect a strong home record, and make sure the season doesn’t fade out. For Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich, this is about staying on task in the promotion race. They’ve already built a serious platform with 79 points, but there’s no room for a lazy afternoon. Not now. Not with the run-in so tight.
The background to this one is pretty different for each club. West Brom have steadied themselves since that 2-1 defeat at Oxford United on 28 February, going nine matches unbeaten and piecing together a sequence that has dragged them clear of real trouble. Ipswich, meanwhile, have spent most of the campaign near the top and have been accumulating results with far less drama. Their trip to The Hawthorns comes after a 2-1 win at Charlton Athletic on 22 April, a result that kept the pressure on the sides above them.
West Brom’s recent form has the look of a side that has finally found some rhythm after a messy spell. The 3-0 home win over Watford on 21 April was the cleanest statement of the lot: sharp, controlled and comfortable from the moment Isaac Price opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Daryl Dike added another before the break, Daniel Imray chipped in with a second assist, and West Brom never let Watford into the game. That followed a tidy 2-0 away win at Preston North End, where the job was done without fuss, and before that came two goalless draws against Millwall and Blackburn Rovers. Draws aren’t glamorous, but they kept the unbeaten run alive. West Brom have also drawn 2-2 with Wrexham and edged Bristol City 1-0 away from home, so there’s been a proper spread of results across the last six. They’ve been hard to beat. That matters.
The bigger picture is even better. West Brom are unbeaten in nine league matches and haven’t lost since that trip to Oxford in late February. Their home record is respectable too: eight wins, nine draws and five defeats from 22 matches at The Hawthorns, with 28 goals scored and 25 conceded. That’s not the profile of a free-scoring home side, but it does point to control. They’re not rolling teams over every week. They’re grinding, competing and keeping games alive long enough to nick them or take a point. The flip side? Too many draws at home have left them in 18th place, and that’s the story of a season that has lacked cutting edge even when the performances have been decent.
Still, there are signs of life in the right areas. The Watford win came with an xG of 1.48 and only 0.61 conceded, which fits a side that managed the game well on both sides of the ball. They put 14 shots up, six on target, and won the big-chance count 3-1. That’s the kind of balance they’ll need again here. The one worry is that their home scoring record remains modest. At The Hawthorns, they’ve been organised rather than explosive. If Ipswich keep the ball well and avoid early mistakes, West Brom will need to be efficient rather than just steady. That’s not always been their strongest suit.
Ipswich’s recent run has had a bit more swing to it, but they’re still getting the job done. The 2-1 win at Charlton Athletic on 22 April was a good example of a side that can take control early and survive when the home team makes it awkward. Greg Docherty struck after just a minute, Darnell Furlong levelled it by the 36th minute, and Jaden Philogene-Bidace’s penalty on 58 minutes settled things. It wasn’t flawless, but it was professional. Before that, Ipswich drew 2-2 with Middlesbrough at home, and earlier in April they were beaten 2-0 at Portsmouth, a reminder that they’re not completely bulletproof on the road. But there was also a sharp away win at Norwich City, where they kept a clean sheet and scored twice, plus a 2-1 home victory over Birmingham City and a 1-1 draw with Millwall. There’s enough variety there to show a side that can win in different ways.
Their overall league position tells you plenty. Second place, 79 points, 22 wins, 13 draws and eight defeats. That’s the sort of record that leaves no doubt about their quality across the season. They’ve scored 75 goals and conceded 45, which is a healthy balance for a promotion contender. Away from home, they’ve been strong without being unstoppable: nine wins, five draws and seven defeats, with 35 scored and 28 conceded. That’s a decent return on the road, and it explains why they’re sitting where they are. They travel with threat. They also carry the odd vulnerability.
Mind you, the recent away results have been a mixed bag. The win at Charlton was handy, and the clean sheet at Norwich showed they can shut the door when needed. But the loss at Portsmouth was a warning sign. Ipswich don’t always keep it tight enough away from home, and they’ve gone three straight matches without a clean sheet overall. In a game like this, that’s the wrinkle that matters. They’ve got the firepower to score most weeks, but they’ve also been first to concede in four of their last five in the broader run, which is a habit West Brom will fancy themselves to exploit. If McKenna’s side start slowly again, they’ll be making life harder than it needs to be.
The most recent meeting between these two came on 25 October 2025, when Ipswich won 1-0 at home in the Championship. That was a tight game, and the scoreline fits the wider pattern. These matches often stay on the controlled side rather than turning chaotic.
There’s also a useful trend from the recent history. West Brom and Ipswich have seen under 2.5 goals land in six of the last eight meetings. That doesn’t guarantee anything here, of course, but it does suggest these teams often cancel each other out for long stretches. West Brom have had some success in the longer run too, including a 2-0 home win in November 2023 and a 2-2 draw in February 2024, but the most recent result belongs to Ipswich. That gives this one a little extra edge.
We’re backing Both Teams To Score at 5/6 for this one. It’s a fair price in a game where the numbers point in opposite directions and meet in the middle. West Brom have scored in their last six league matches, while Ipswich have plenty of away firepower and have found the net in all sorts of settings this season. Both sides also carry a bit of fragility: West Brom have drawn too many home games, and Ipswich haven’t been especially reliable at keeping clean sheets on the road. That combination is hard to ignore.
The xG projection is tight at West Bromwich Albion 1.2 and Ipswich Town 1.1, which fits the feel of a 1-1 draw. That’s the scoreline I’d land on. West Brom should make this competitive at home, and Ipswich are good enough to nick a goal even if they don’t dominate. Under 2.5 goals is live too, especially with the head-to-head leaning that way, but BTTS feels the cleaner bet because both teams have shown just enough attacking quality to get on the board.
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