Chelsea vs. Ipswich Town, Premier League: Preview, team news, how to watch
12/04/2025 20:24
Must-win
The race for the Champions League spots is truly starting to heat up, with results on Saturday only serving to congest the already congested pack even more. We've got five teams vying for three spots, potentially separated by just three points provided both Chelsea and Newcastle United follow Manchester City and Aston Villa in winning this weekend.
It's not all bad news for our hopes, given that fifth place has been officially confirmed as a Champions League-qualifying spot now, and Nottingham Forest are crashing back to reality with back-to-back defeats. But we still face perhaps the toughest schedule of all the contenders, which makes this game an absolute must-win.
Date / Time: Sunday, April 13, 14.00 BST; 9am EDT; 6:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Stuart Attwell (on pitch); Michael Salisbury (VAR) — semi-automated offside technology will also be used for the first time
Forecast: Warm, but overcast with a slight chance of rain
On TV: none (UK); none (USA); Star Sports Select HD2 (India); Canal+ (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming:none (UK); Peacock (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); SuperSport GOtv (NGA)
Chelsea team news: There are no new injury concerns for us, though we continue to be fairly careful, and rightly so, in managing minutes for the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, and Reece James. And while Wesley Fofana is now out for the season following hamstring surgery, we should get both Roméo Lavia and Marc Guiu back in the next few weeks as well.
Chelsea's 3-0 victory in Warsaw on Thursday should make the second leg of our UEFA Conference League quarterfinal a bit of a formality, which should allow us to fully focus on the league right now. Our home form has been great, almost all season, with six wins in a row in all competitions, and just one defeat since opening day. Hopefully we can ride that form into the Champions League.
Ipswich Town team news: The Tractor Boys have not been officially relegated just yet, but it's surely just a matter of time before they join Southampton and Leicester City in going back down immediately after coming up from the Championship. Their inability to make an impact in the top flight has led to some consternation about the growing financial gap between the divisions, though the three points we dropped at Portman Road in December could yet come back to haunt us.
Ipswich have won just once in the dozen league games since, beating Bournemouth, away a couple weeks ago. Liam Delap scored the winner, just as he did against us. He has twelve goals on the season, a pretty good return that will surely guarantee that he stays in the top flight (perhaps with Chelsea?) even as the rest of his teammates go back down.
Former Chelsea prospect Omari Hutchinson's facing a late fitness test as is left back Conor Townsend. Goalkeeper Aro Murić, who had lost his place as first-choice in January, is now out for the season following shoulder surgery. Sammie Szmodics, Wes Burns, and Chiedozie Ogbene are also out long-term.
Previously: Games between these two teams have not been very common since the 70s, and the last time Ipswich won at the Bridge was back in 1979, when we finished rock bottom of the old First Division (and Ipswich finished sixth). One of the worst seasons in our modern history, with a bunch of kids in the team, a stadium issue hanging over the club, a highly unqualified manager in charge, and our very own Ray Wilkins off to Manchester United for a then record Pure Profit™ of £825k.
