Chelsea’s recent surge up the Premier League table hit a surprising skid on Boxing Day after a 1-0 lead over neighbours Fulham turned into a dramatic late 2-1 defeat.
Enzo Maresca’s side will hope to reinforce their status as genuine challengers to league leaders Liverpool with a quick bounce-back at the expense of promoted Ipswich Town.
The Tractor Boys are three points from safety inside the relegation zone and need to find their top flight footing before it’s too late. Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Friday was not as close as the scoreline suggests.
The visit of the deep and youthful Chelsea squad, determined to avenge the humbling turnaround at home to Fulham, will be a tough hill for Ipswich to climb.
The Sporting News looks at the latest team news and predicted lineups.
MORE: All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Ipswich vs. Chelsea lineups, predicted starting 11, team news
Massimo Luongo has been out with an illness, and while he’s expected back in action shortly, it remains to be seen whether that will be against Chelsea.
George Hirst‘s knee injury will probably keep him away for a few more weeks, meanwhile, and Janoi Donacien remains sidelined with an ankle injury from September.
Longer-term than that, Axel Tuanzebe‘s thigh injury has him out indefinitely while Chiedozie Ogbene‘s season is already over courtesy of an Achilles tear. Captain Sam Morsy is back from suspension.
Ipswich predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Muric (GK) — Clarke, O’Shea, Burgess, Davis — Phillips, Cajuste — Burns, Hutchinson, Szmodics — Delap
Injured: Hirst (knee), Donacien (ankle), Tuanzebe (thigh), Ogbene (Achilles)
Suspended: None
MORE: All the latest Chelsea news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
With the festive fixtures coming thick and fast, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca may make a change or two in order to rest key players.
One such possibility is Christopher Nkunku in for Nicolas Jackson up front, while recent omissions Axel Disasi and Renato Veiga could also rotate back in.
The Blues have two Christmas period doubts: Carney Chukwuemeka is fighting to return from a virus, while Romeo Lavia anxiously awaits the green light to re-take the pitch following a hamstring injury that has hampered much of his 2024/25.
Meanwhile, Benoit Badiashile, Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Omari Kellyman will all remain unavailable for the foreseeable future. Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended following an adverse finding during a urine test.
Chelsea predicted lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Disasi, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella — Caicedo, Fernandez — Madueke, Palmer, Felix — Nkunku
Injured: Chukwuemeka (virus), Lavia, James, Fofana, Kellyman (all hamstring), Badiashile (undisclosed)
Suspended: Mudryk (provisional suspension after failed doping test)
Ipswich vs. Chelsea live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | — | Peacock |
| Canada | — | Fubo |
| UK | — | — |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | Star Sports Select 2 | Disney+ Hotstar, JioTV |
