Manchester United vs Ipswich Town Preview: Team News, Predicted Line-ups and Premier League Form

Manchester United’s first game at Old Trafford this season sees them welcome a newly-promoted side for a second successive week, hosting Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils will look to bounce back after a dismal opening weekend saw them lose to a newly-promoted side in Hull City for the first time in their league history.

Whereas for the away side, Gary O’Neil’s first game as Ipswich boss went perfectly, as Jack Clarke’s 90th-minute winner against his former side Sunderland last weekend marked a brilliant return to the Premier League for the Tractor Boys.

Match Preview

Michael Carrick’s men suffered a humiliating loss to relegation favourites Hull, with two set-piece goals without reply meaning the Red Devils’ start to the season resulted in a 2–0 away defeat.

They didn’t create much throughout their opening fixture, failing to break down a well-organised Hull defence. United drawing a blank at the KCOM Stadium meant that they have failed to score on matchday one in back-to-back seasons, despite accumulating 43 shots combined.

There was a lot of hope coming into the new season from many United fans after a much-needed midfield revamp saw new signings Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos start in midfield last weekend.

They replaced the outgoing Casemiro and a recovering Kobbie Mainoo, who performed so well under Michael Carrick towards the back end of last season and helped the team finish in their highest league position since 2022/23.

The feel-good factor was also to do with the good form after Carrick took over. The new United permanent boss took over as interim when the Red Devils were seventh, with 32 points from 21 matches. He quickly turned their fortunes around and won 12 of their final 17 games to finish third in the Premier League table.

With the additions of Santos and Tielemans, and recently highly-talented midfielder Carlos Baleba, optimism was high going into the Hull game after a positive pre-season. However, the shock result has worried United fans going into the new season, with the new midfield signings failing to make the controlling impact many supporters, and Carrick, hoped.

Hull were worthy winners, with Senne Lammens being called into action early on in the game. The Belgian made a terrific save to deny Oli McBurnie’s flick from a corner, but the rebound off the post was tapped in by Semi Ajayi, giving the Tigers a dream start on their return to the Premier League.

Another set-piece troubled the United defence again, with Regan Slater’s excellent ball finding Hull’s record signing Nobel Mendy, who headed the ball in for a 2–0 lead.

The Red Devils struggled to create any worthwhile chances despite having the majority of possession, with their 21 shots not worrying Tzolakis in the Hull net.

Despite having the same attack that scored the third-most goals in the Premier League last season, it was a frustrating day for the United attackers. Marcus Rashford made a slight difference when he came on for his return to the side, but overall, they looked like a side lacking creativity and struggling to break down low blocks, which has been their problem for years.

But that is what Ipswich will likely do when they travel to Old Trafford this Sunday, as the Tractor Boys will be looking to capitalise on a sluggish-looking Manchester United team.

Gary O’Neil’s men marked their return to the Premier League with a great late win over a Sunderland side who finished inside the Europa League places last season.

The runners-up in the Championship last season impressed in their first game back, taking an early lead against the Black Cats through their new signing up top, Emersonn.

The Brazilian was one of five new signings starting the game at Portman Road, along with Julian Enciso, who made his loan move permanent from Strasbourg. The Paraguayan was involved in the opening goal against Sunderland, meaning he has had a hand in five goals in his last five Premier League appearances.

The Tractor Boys were pegged back, but Jack Clarke, off the bench, rescued a late win with a brilliant finish against his old employers to get Ipswich off to a great start.

They also advanced to the next round of the Carabao Cup in midweek, beating League One Leicester City, helped by a brace from Marcelino Nunez.

Head-to-Head

However, a visit to Old Trafford will be a massive test for the newly-promoted side. Ipswich are winless in seven Premier League games against Sunday’s opponents, having not beaten the Red Devils since their 3–2 win back in September 1994.

The two teams have faced each other three times over the last decade and a half. A League Cup victory in 2015 helped Louis van Gaal’s United side progress into the next round.

The last two match-ups were in the 2024/25 season, with Ipswich managing to put up a good fight in both games.

Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United were pegged back by Omari Hutchinson to draw 1–1 at Portman Road in late 2024, while the Red Devils managed to win 3–2 at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture.

It was a dismal season for both teams, as Ipswich, despite looking good in parts, got relegated in their first season back, while United finished 15th in their worst Premier League season ever.

Kieran McKenna was the manager the last time Ipswich Town were in the Premier League and was only replaced by Gary O’Neil this time out due to personal circumstances. Otherwise, he would be attempting to keep his team that got promoted from being relegated once again.

Team News

This is most likely Ipswich’s best chance at beating Manchester United for quite some time, as Carrick’s side still have several injury issues that are keeping players out for the foreseeable future.

New £65 million signing Carlos Baleba is expected to be out for several weeks after he was sidelined in Brighton’s pre-season training camp with an ankle injury, so he won’t be making his debut at Old Trafford just yet.

United’s midfield options remain very light, with Manuel Ugarte set to be out until 2027 and Kobbie Mainoo still recovering from a knock, but he did make a substitute appearance last week.

Matthijs de Ligt remains sidelined after he was injured in late 2025, while veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton is also unavailable. Amad is also set to be out for a successive week, although Mason Mount could be back after he was sidelined last week.

Although no further injuries were sustained, it would be surprising if Carrick sticks with the same XI that lost to Hull.

The returning England internationals Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo came off the bench last weekend and are most likely the ones to be pushing for a start after decent cameos.

Benjamin Šeško will also be wanting a place in the starting line-up after his great form under Michael Carrick helped the team secure many late victories, and he led United’s goalscoring charts with Bryan Mbuemo last year.

As for Ipswich, they rested nine of the 11 starters that beat Sunderland in their Carabao Cup clash in midweek. The two that survived were Irish defender Dara O’Shea and Chilean international Marcelino Nunez, who scored two, including a wonderful 45-yard lob over the goalkeeper.

Jack Clarke started the League Cup fixture and scored the winner in their first Premier League game off the bench, so could be rewarded with a start at Old Trafford, potentially replacing £25 million signing Abdul Fatawu.

However, Gary O’Neil may well stick with the team that won the opening fixture as he looks to break his managerial duck against Manchester United, having lost all four of his games in charge against them for Bournemouth and Wolves respectively.

Ipswich have relatively few injury concerns. Florentino Luis remains sidelined as he is yet to make his debut after his move from Burnley, with Azor Matusiwa also unavailable.

Predicted Line-ups

Manchester United XI: Lammens, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo, Santos, Fernandes, Rashford, Cunha, Mbuemo.

Ipswich Town XI: Scherpen, O’Shea, Diop, Greaves, Davis, Lukic, Nunez, Maeda, Clarke, Enciso, Emersonn.