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Sunderland will host Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light on Sunday in the opening round of the 2023-24 EFL Championship campaign.
The home side enjoyed a largely solid campaign last season with manager Tony Mowbray leading the side to the playoffs in their first season back in the Championship since the 2017-18 campaign.
They faced Luton Town in the first round of the promotion playoffs, picking up a 2-1 win in the first leg before suffering a 2-0 defeat in the second.
Sunderland suffered a surprise 5-2 defeat to National League side Hartlepool United in their final pre-season fixture earlier in the week and will be looking to bounce back from that when they make their return to competitive action on Sunday.
Ipswich, meanwhile, enjoyed a memorable campaign last season as they secured promotion from the League One and are set to play in the second tier of English football for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
The appointment of manager Kieran McKenna back in December 2021 has seen the club take massive strides forward and they will hope they can continue that this season.
Sunderland vs Ipswich Town Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 56 competitive meetings between Sunderland and Ipswich. The hosts have won 24 of those games while the visitors have won one fewer. There have been nine draws between the two teams.
- The two sides last faced off in a League One clash back in December 2021 which ended 1-1.
- The hosts are undefeated in their last six games in this fixture.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last six games in this fixture.
- Only seven of the Black Cats' 18 league wins last season came on home turf.
Sunderland vs Ipswich Town Prediction
Sunderland's latest result ended a six-game unbeaten run and they will now be looking to bounce back here. They are undefeated in their last six home league games and will be hopeful of a positive result here.
Ipswich are on a three-game unbeaten run, although they have won just one of their last five matches. They have struggled for results in this fixture of late and could see defeat here.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-0 Ipswich Town
Sunderland vs Ipswich Town Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Sunderland to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Six of the last seven matches between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just two of their last six matchups at Sunderland)
