Ipswich Town vs Fulham FC 9th August 5:15pm

Ipswich have become a solid Championship team under the
management of the astute Mick McCarthy but they face a Fulham team who were relegated from the Premier League last season and their manager Felix Magath will demand a
swift return. A lack of goals from January onwards was the main reason why Ipswich were unable to maintain their drive towards a
play-off position as they failed to score more than two goals in any of those games, while the defence leaked three goals apiece against Wigan, Leicester and QPR. Yet the
Tractor Boys have built a reputation as a steady home team with only Wigan leaving Portman Road with maximum points from February onwards. Ipswich used the summer to improve their away form too, with four of five friendlies away from home ending in a victory. McCarthy will be boosted by the return of David McGoldrick from a long-term injury but he will only be named on the bench with new signing Balint Bajner and Daryl Murphy probably leading the attack. Winger Alex Henshall is a useful free signing from Manchester City. Meanwhile Paul Anderson and Tommy Smith should both recover from injury but there will be late decisions regarding Jonathan Parr (groin) and Stephen Hunt (calf). New signing Cameron Stewart has suffered a fractured jaw and will be sidelined for up to six weeks.

Fulham will be hoping to use this opening game as a springboard towards a promotion winning campaign. Ashkan Dejagah, Damien Duff, Steve Sidwell, Kieran Richardson and Brede Hangeland are among several high- profile outgoings with new faces continuing to arrive. Fulham have seen a positive pre-season campaign, with four victories out of four, whilst conceding no goals. The purchase of Leeds marksman Ross McCormack for £7 million is the most ambitious signing to date while the experienced Nikolay Bodurov is expected to play at the heart of defence. Thomas Eisfeld is a midfield signing who could catch the eye while new German right back Tim Hoogland has settled into a squad.

As ever Ipswich will be a difficult team to beat and the outcome of this match will depend much on the ability of the Fulham squad to gel in the Championship. There may be
few chances and not many goals. A goalless draw.

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals