Ipswich Town

Graeme McLoughlin
BBC Radio Suffolk sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

On this page a couple of weeks ago, I wrote of slight disappointment when it came to Ipswich Town's points return going into the international break.

I felt Gary O'Neil's side had been worthy of more after an undeserving loss at Everton. Fast-forward to now and Saturday's late heroics against Fulham at Portman Road have certainly lifted spirits.

Town continue to look far from a team here to make up the numbers, and they have had their moments in every fixture.

What's more, the manager appears to have unearthed a couple of gems who would almost certainly not be at the club had he not returned to the UK from France during the summer.

Striker Emersonn is one of those. It is possible the 22-year-old may have first appeared on O'Neil's radar after netting the winner against his Strasbourg side in a Ligue 1 fixture in May, but Abdoul Ouattara was already there, having been a part of the squad inherited from Liam Rosenior.

O'Neil is clearly a fan of the young Ivorian and told us a few months back he had a specific role in mind for the player despite his obvious versatility.

Well, it appears Ouattara has very quickly staked a claim to be first-choice right-back, having shone in that position since making his full Premier League debut at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

While players at other clubs who cost up to six times what Outtara did struggle with the pace and physicality of the English game, the 20-year-old has had no such issues - and has now proved he has a special goal in his locker as well.

You sense the player will be relishing what is likely to be his biggest test since joining Town this weekend.

There is so much uncertainty surrounding this season - largely because of the noise surrounding Manchester City, Town's opponents on Saturday - but from an Ipswich perspective, I am loving the campaign.

The three wins on the board are just one fewer than the Blues managed during their previous stint in the top flight, and Town have got to nine points after six games, having required 12 to reach that tally last time around.

If they have hit double figures in points come 5pm on Saturday, do fans dare to dream about far more than just survival?

Listen to reaction to more Ipswich Town reaction from club legend John Wark below or on BBC Sounds here

Join Graeme Mac for The Matchday Preview every Friday from 18:00 and subscribe to the Ipswich Town page on BBC Sounds - plus, listen to BBC Radio Suffolk for full commentary of every Tractor Boys game.

Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent

Imagine a world where Manchester City had not used "sham contracts" to build a team capable of winning three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and three EFL Cups.

If City were the winners, then there had to be losers - and not just those teams who finished runners-up or lost cup finals.

The potential impact runs much deeper and includes missed Champions League qualification, relegation and Premier League prize money.

Thirty-five other teams played in the English top flight between 2009 and 2018.

And every one could in some way claim to have been left financially out of pocket.

Learn more about how the numbers were calculated here

BBC Radio Suffolk's Brenner Woolley brings you the latest on Ipswich Town following their dramatic late win over Fulham at Portman Road.

He speaks to fan Andy about the victory that lifted the Tractor Boys into the top half of the Premier League.

"It was one hell of a last five or six minutes," Andy said.

"The substitutions really made the difference - [Exequiel] Palacios and [Jack] Clarke especially. It was a lovely little cameo from [Chuba] Akpom, so that's the big difference.

"We have a better starting XI and we've got a better matchday squad than we had two years ago.

"So far, we're able to overpower and show more resilience against teams we need to beat to stay up. Those last five minutes were absolutely unreal."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and subscribe to the dedicated Ipswich Town page to get all Tractor Boys audio content.

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Fulham.

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Sue: Games are often won on moments of brilliance from special players and I believe we have one in Ouattara. Great delivery from Jack Clarke, who's doing really well too when given the chance.

Neil: Never-say-die attitude for Tractor Boys is a real strength in the Premier League.

Dave: Yet again Ipswich left it late and gave most of us palpitations, but we now have the squad quality to pull this sort of thing off - and not for the first time, which gives us all hope. There is no reason why we can't go on and finish 12th. Or better. Come on, you Blues!

Seb: Incredible performance. The best team won. Ouattara rewarded with a quality goal for a quality performance. Maeda showing signs of the player he can be. We played as a team and that got us the three points.

Fulham fans

Paul: Nothing good ever came from sitting back and defending a one-goal lead. We should have pressed on for a second - not one attack in second half. Extraordinarily disappointing.

Jan: I don't normally join in with the "sack 'em" brigade but I really feel that change needs to happen. A distinct lack of calm and the unnecessary surrender of three points. If we don't beat Hull City we need to bring in a more experienced manager. Bring back Roy!

Bill: I am now seriously worried about being relegated. When you are 1-0 up after 86 minutes you must keep possession and wind the clock down, but yet again we failed to do that. There seems to be a lethargy about the team and some players dont even look fit. A couple more bad results and Arbeloa will be out - probably a good thing.

Brian: Same old. How many more times are we going to concede late goals by clinging on to a one-goal lead? The manager does not seem to have the answer. I know it's early days but it might be better to get a new manager in before the season slips away.

Ipswich Town captain Dara O'Shea says it's "not a coincidence or luck" that his side have scored so many late goals this season.

After scoring the winner against Fulham, he told BBC Radio Suffolk: "We pride ourselves on having good characters in the group and being fit, strong lads. We work really, really hard and it's important.

"It obviously shows late on it games when we're still pushing, we're there and we're scoring goals. It's not a coincidence and it's not luck - it is worked on day in, day out.

"It's a great start [to the season]. Obviously, last time out [in the Premier League] we found it difficult and probably got on the wrong end of results, and were unlucky too at times.

"To be where we are after these games is good but it's got to push us on even more. We can't be happy.

"The Premier League is such a tough league, you can't rely on other teams giving you things. You've really got to go out and earn it."

Hear the full interview below or listen on BBC Sounds here

Gary Rose
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

There were joyous scenes at the final whistle as the home fans celebrated what they will see as an important win, even at this early stage of the season.

With Fulham having failed to win any of their first five games and with Manchester City up next, this will have been a fixture they will hoped to get all three points from.

For so long that looked unlikely, particularly after Emersonn hit the woodwork despite being unmarked inside the box, while they were perhaps unfortunate for Daizen Maeda's penalty shout to be waved away.

But they kept plugging away and got their reward with the two dramatic late goals that means they have won half of their games so far on their return to the Premier League.

Top-flight survival will be their target this season and their fans will be encouraged that their wins have come against Sunderland, Crystal Palace and now Fulham - sides they will likely believe could also be near the bottom of the league this term.

Ipswich manager Gary O'Neil, spoke to BBC Sport after his side's victory against Fulham: "We have quality, the Premier League is high for quality but I think we deserved the win today. You need to take points when you deserve them.

"We were in control, we conceded a goal from 30 yards which is tough to take when you are in control. The players were excellent and deserve a lot of credit.

"We showed good understanding, it can be difficult to chase a game at home. We showed a good mixture of being patient and not wasting balls. We kept going and we found a way.

"I think the people see the work that goes into it. You can lose 1-0 by Sessegnon smashing one in from 30 yards, but if you play like that you give yourself enough of an opportunity.

"We are in a good moment but nine points definitely won't get us where we want to go this season."

Hear more from O'Neil on BBC Sounds

Did you know?

• Ipswich Town have won three of their first six Premier League games in a season for only the second time, after 1993-94 (W3 D2 L1); it took them 19 games to register three victories in 2024-25.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Ipswich's performance

What did you make of Fulham's display?

Reaction and analysis to follow - and come back on Monday for a selection of your replies.

There are six games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Arsenal v Leeds United (12:30)

• Aston Villa v Brentford - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Chelsea v Bournemouth - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Ipswich Town v Fulham

• Sunderland v Brighton

• Manchester United v Tottenham (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

How to follow the Premier League weekend across the BBC

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on your smart speaker. Just say "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play Manchester United v Tottenham" or "Alexa, ask BBC Sounds to play the Brentford match", for example.

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Simply follow your favourite football teams on the BBC Sport app for updates throughout the 2026-27 season.

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Simply predict the outcome of the six fixtures we've selected from across domestic and European competitions every week.

Players can join at any time, get involved with the latest round and start building a streak.

Read more about it here

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Ipswich lost last time out, against Everton, but they gave it a real go even when they went down to 10 men midway through the second half.

I know I keep predicting the Tractor Boys to lose but it's not a case of me just doing them over every week - I actually hope they stay up.

This is a tough game for them, however, because while Fulham are winless so far, they have deserved more than they have got.

The Cottagers were unlucky not to beat Manchester United before the break, and I was impressed with them when I watched them draw with Liverpool last month too.

Three points would be huge for either team, but I can see this ending up as a draw.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Saturday's match (15:00 BST), with Fulham visiting Ipswich looking for their first league win of the season.

Blues seek defensive solidity

Ipswich players not called up by their countries spent part of the international break at a warm-weather training camp in Spain, which culminated in a 1-0 win over Espanyol in a behind-closed-doors friendly on 2 October.

The Tractor Boys have yet to keep a competitive clean sheet under Gary O'Neil, but will hope shutting out the La Liga outfit can provide a springboard towards greater defensive solidity. Only Chelsea have conceded more top-flight goals than the Blues, who are also among the league's worst sides for shots faced, big chances faced and duel success rate.

O'Neil made two changes to his backline for the defeat at Everton last time out. Summer signing Kjell Scherpen made way for Christian Walton in goal, while Abdoul Ouattara replaced Jacob Greaves in defence, allowing captain Dara O'Shea to move from right-back to his preferred position at centre-back.

Those alterations did not quite pay off, with the Blues beaten 1-0 on Merseyside, but they showed plenty of attacking endeavour, even after being reduced to 10 men for the final 23 minutes.

That performance will give the newly promoted side confidence as they target a third Premier League win of the season. It took them 19 games to reach that tally during their most recent top-flight campaign in 2024-25.

Arbeloa still awaiting first win

Fulham are one of three clubs still searching for their first Premier League win, but back-to-back draws against Liverpool and Manchester United have provided encouragement for new boss Alvaro Arbeloa.

His side came close to beating United, only for a deflected Matheus Cunha strike to level the scores in the 89th minute.

Arbeloa was outspoken in his criticism of referee Peter Bankes after the match, complaining that "every decision" had gone United's way. He has since been charged with misconduct by the Football Association.

The Cottagers now begin a run of three consecutive games against the three promoted clubs, and the Spaniard is likely to come under pressure if he is still without a victory at the end of that sequence.

This is only the fourth time Fulham have failed to win any of their opening five top-flight games. The last time it happened, in 2020-21, they went on to be relegated.

George Booth
BBC Sport journalist

Ipswich boss Gary O'Neil has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham at Portman Road (kick-off 15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• O'Neil confirmed "everyone is available" to face Fulham, excluding Abdul Fatawu, who is serving a suspension for his red card against Everton.

• Exequiel Palacios "feels ready to go" after returning from Argentina duty, during which he featured in three games against Bolivia, Benin and Burkina Faso. "I expect to see him on the football pitch tomorrow," said O'Neil.

• On Jack Taylor and Azor Matusiwa's rehabilitation progress: "Jack got some important minutes for the under-21s in the week. He also played in a behind-closed-doors friendly through the break, and has been with the team. Azor has also stepped up his rehab and is feeling good. Both are available for selection now."

• On players returning from international duty: "For every manager, [regarding] the lads who get back late, it is always a consideration of how far they have travelled, what the time difference is, how much they played, whether they carry a bit more risk into the weekend, fitness-wise. We still have decisions to make."

• The Tractor Boys boss said the new training ground development is "top" and that the club now has an "incredible facility".

• On Fulham, O'Neil said: "They're good. I have watched a lot of them. I think they were unlucky against Palace and they should have won the game, no doubt. Easily deserved their point at Anfield, which is not easy to do. Not as many points as their performances would suggest. We have another opportunity to add another three points to our tally."

• On Manchester City's charges: "You guys know me well enough that I have spent the past three weeks making sure we are ready for Fulham. It's something I am not involved in, and something I don't want to be involved in."

Ipswich defender Issa Diop also took questions from the press ahead of Ipswich's match against Fulham - you can listen Diop on BBC Sounds here

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Just five games in, it might seem a bit early to pay much attention to the Premier League table - but it's probably more settled than you think.

If we look at the Premier League after five games last season and where teams ultimately ended up, the final table was already starting to take shape as 13 of the 20 sides finished within four places of where they sat even at this early stage (65%).

Eventual champions Arsenal were second, Sunderland were already seventh - where they finished eight months later - and two of the three sides that were relegated were already in the bottom three.

The eventual champions have been in the top two at this point in the past four campaigns, suggesting - potential punishments aside - it will be Manchester City or Arsenal that lifts the trophy.

The top end of the table overall has sometimes settled surprisingly quickly in recent years. The top eight after five games in 2024-25 finished as the top eight at the end of that season (although not in the same order), while the top six in 2019-20 and top seven in 2016-17 were also in place at this early stage.

While being top after five games has not meant much in recent seasons, being bottom certainly has.

Tottenham could well be in trouble once again as the side bottom of the Premier League after five games has been relegated in six of the past seven seasons.

Being bottom this early did not used to be such a bad omen. Between 2013-14 and 2018-19, only one of the six sides that were propping up the table after five games ended up going down - Newcastle in 2015-16 - while Crystal Palace finished as high as 11th in 2017-18.

Looking at the relegation battle more broadly, at least one of the teams in the bottom three at this stage has been relegated in the past eight seasons - so one of Tottenham, Fulham and Coventry City are very likely to be heading to the Championship in May.

The pool of contestants for this season's relegation battle may already be decided too because the three sides that ultimately went down in the past three seasons were all in the bottom six after five games, which would add Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace to the mix.

The last sides to be outside the bottom six at this point but relegated were Leeds United and Southampton in 2022-23, who were both in the top half (seventh and ninth). With their teams currently in eighth and 11th place, Hull City and Ipswich Town fans will hope that is still the case at the end of this campaign.

While the season may well have barely begun, the Premier League table is already starting to take shape.

Read the piece in full here

Ipswich Town face a Fulham side without a win so far this season in their first game back after the international break.

After a promising start to life back in the Premier League, the Tractor Boys sit comfortably in mid-table after two wins and three defeats from their opening five matches.

And with the contrasting form of both sides - Fulham are without a win and sit 19th with two points - some have been asking whether Gary O'Neil's team are favourites in a top-flight match for the first time this season.

Ipswich Town legend John Wark, speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, said: "We can't afford to lose it but I want us to win. If it was a draw, I wouldn't mind it.

"It's going to be a real difficult game to call."

On picking up points against sides near the bottom of the table in the next few games, he added: "It's down to us. We've got to play a lot better to get the results we need. These teams are all decent teams."

Listen to the full chat above or on BBC Sounds here

It's been a history-making international break at Ipswich Town, during which 10 members of Gary O'Neil's first-team squad have been away representing their countries across six continents.

Club headlines in recent weeks have included an appearance for midfielder Exequiel Palacios in Lionel Messi's final match for Argentina, while Abdul Fatawu, Daizen Maeda and Sasa Lukic became Town's first internationals representing Ghana, Japan and Serbia respectively.

One of my highlights during this period, from a purely selfish Town perspective, was the news that Marcelino Nunez was heading back to Suffolk early after being released from Chile's squad for what their federation described as "personal reasons".

Reports subsequently suggested there had been some unhappiness after Nunez was an unused substitute against the United States.

Without wishing to offend Nunez, Chile v USA inevitably means rather less to me than Town v Fulham. The same goes for the Nations League, Africa Cup of Nations qualifying or the Kirin Cup. From an Ipswich perspective, the priority is simply getting everyone back to Suffolk fit and firing.

Based on his comments prior to the Blues' last Premier League outing at Everton, I'm certain this is something Town boss Gary O'Neil and I agree on entirely.

"I don't like international breaks," he told us at his pre-match press conference. "You're always looking at the line-ups and seeing who's playing and if they've come off at any point."

Perhaps O'Neil will also have been relieved at the Nunez situation and will have been quick to offer an arm around the shoulder of the player, letting him know that he is appreciated and needed at Portman Road.

All of Town's capped players will certainly be needed for another huge block of five Premier League fixtures, beginning with Saturday's visit of a Fulham side yet to register a first three-point maximum this season.

Almost the entirety of the Ipswich squad are due back on Wednesday, and international recognition is another welcome sign of Town's progress.

For O'Neil, though, the best news of the break may simply be seeing 10 fit players walk back through the doors at Playford Road.

Join Graeme for The Matchday Preview every Friday from 18:00 and subscribe to the Ipswich Town page on BBC Sounds - plus, listen to BBC Radio Suffolk for full commentary of every Tractor Boys game.

Image source, Getty Images

A number of Premier League clubs want Manchester City to be hit with both "retrospective punishments" and sanctions for the future for their mass financial rule-breaking, sources have told BBC Sport.

An independent commission found City guilty of all charges relating to breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations between the 2009-10 and 2017-18 seasons.

City have appealed against the verdict, while the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is poised to look at the findings to see if there may be any suggestions of potential misconduct.

However, there is said to be a consensus among a group of top-flight club executives that if City's appeal is unsuccessful, the sanctions should make reparations for the period when they broke the rules, while also limiting their powers in future.

There is also a feeling from at least four Premier League boardrooms that a "one-hit" points deduction resulting in relegation to the Championship would be an insufficient punishment given the severity of City's wrongdoing.

Read more on what rival clubs want