After winning promotion from League One under the management of Kieran McKenna last season, Ipswich have enjoyed a dream start to life back in England’s second tier, currently boasting a perfect record at the top of the division.
The Tractor Boys marked their return to the Championship with a tough trip to Sunderland and left with all three points as Nathan Broadhead opened the scoring on the stroke of half time and George Hirst added a second early in the second period, before they stood strong to see out the victory after Dan Neil pulled one back for their hosts late on.
After then seeing off Bristol Rovers in the first round of the EFL Cup, McKenna’s men then entertained Stoke City in their first home league game of the campaign and made it back-to-back Championship triumphs and three straight wins in all competitions, as Luke Woolfenden and Kayden Jackson found the net in a 2-0 victory, before they most recently travelled to take on Queens Park Rangers last weekend.
Heading in with plenty of confidence, the Tractor Boys did find themselves under pressure for large portions of that outing, but it was them who were able to find the opening goal through Conor Chaplin 15 minutes from time, and they would see out a second straight clean sheet to take their tally to nine points.
With momentum certainly on their side following the promotion and their start, having now gone 22 league matches unbeaten across the second and third tiers, Ipswich will look to maintain their perfect record and further strengthen their position in the Championship’s leading pack.
They meet a Leeds side who have experienced a much tougher start to the campaign than their hosts, having also returned to the Championship this year after their relegation from the Premier League last time around.
The Yorkshire outfit turned to Daniel Farke to lead their bid for an immediate promotion back to the top flight, and after a summer largely defined by departures throughout the squad, they began by welcoming Cardiff City to Elland Road and were only able to snatch a point from a 2-2 draw thanks to Crysencio Summerville’s injury-time leveller, after the visitors had gone 2-0 up in the first half and Liam Cooper pulled one back in the 49th minute.
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Aiming to build on that with a first league triumph, after coming from behind to get past Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup, the Whites travelled to St Andrews but were on the wrong end of a late goal on that occasion, as the game looked set to end goalless until the hosts won a penalty which Lukas Jutkiewicz converted to snatch all three points.
Continuing the search for a first three-point haul of the campaign, Farke’s men most recently played host to West Bromwich Albion last Friday, and after falling behind early in the second half following Brandon Thomas-Asante’s goal, they were able to draw level through Luke Ayling’s headed finish but could not find a winner in the final 18 minutes, instead having to settle for a share of the spoils.
Now with just two points on the board from their opening three outings, Leeds will be desperate to put the tough start behind them and lift the mood in the camp with a win on their travels this weekend, although they certainly face a tough test against an Ipswich team full of confidence.
