Paul Merson Warns: Ipswich Poised to Stun Villa Before Bayern Clash!
Aston Villa is now officially competing on three fronts as they shift their focus back to Premier League action with a trip to Ipswich Town this weekend.
After securing advancement in the League Cup against Wycombe Wanderers, Villa is looking to maintain their momentum in the league.
This weekend, they face newly-promoted Ipswich, who are still seeking their first win after returning to the Premier League, having only lost to Liverpool and Manchester City.
Many pundits predict an away win, but Mark Lawrenson has offered a bold prediction that Ipswich could pull off a 2-1 upset. He told Paddy Power: “I’m going to stick my neck out and have this as my upset of the weekend. Ipswich have got better every game and they put up a good fight, at the very least, every match.” He also mentioned Jhon Duran, saying, “I bet he’s one of those who’s lethal off the bench but goes missing if he starts. We’ll see.”
Paul Merson disagrees with Lawrenson’s prediction, suggesting Villa will win 2-0 while cautioning about distractions from their upcoming Champions League match against Bayern Munich. He stated, “They can’t get distracted by that game because they have to sort this one out first. You don’t want to be the first team beaten by Ipswich. I actually feel Ipswich can cause Villa problems early in the game, but if the visitors can ride that early pressure and keep their attitude right, they will get over the line easily by the end of the game.”
Chris Sutton is more optimistic for Villa, predicting a 2-1 victory in his BBC Sport column. He said, “I don’t see them [Ipswich] getting anything here, though. Aston Villa do concede goals, and are already fighting on all fronts so this is a test of their squad. Ipswich will have a go and I think they will score, but again I think that Villa will have too much for them.”
Finally, the team from The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast shared their predictions, with Roy Keane stating, “Villa, all day,” while he, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott agreed on a 2-1 scoreline for Villa. In contrast, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher predicted a 2-0 win for Villa, with Carragher adding, “No one’s beating Martinez.”
