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Betting on Town: Ipswich face Manchester City as record-breaking underdogs

Opinion
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Ipswich Town prepare for their most formidable challenge yet against Manchester City, likely entering the match as the biggest underdogs in the club's history.

Ipswich Town will face reigning Premier League champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this weekend, with even the most optimistic fans tempering their expectations.

Haaland celebrates his goal with his teammates
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates with teammates Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva after scoring to make it 1-0 during the Premier League match at Stamford BridgeAlamy

Massive underdogs: Bookmakers have set odds as high as 28/1 for an Ipswich win, while odds of 36/1 have been readily available on the exchanges. This has to be the longest odds for an Ipswich victory in the club's long history.

Despite the slim chances of success: Many supporters hope for a strong performance similar to the recent match against Liverpool, where a respectable showing, even in defeat, would satisfy any semi-realistic fans.

Room for big moments: The City pitch is big. If they allow us time on the ball, we have players that can cause them problems – most notably Hutchinson, who's capable of moments of magic against any team in the league.

Team news: Manager Kieran McKenna is expected to make 3 or 4 changes to the starting lineup, and a formation change to counter Manchester City's world-class squad wouldn't surprise me either.

  • Goalkeeper Aro Muric faces a late fitness test

  • Wes Burns is out for several weeks with a hamstring injury

  • Kalvin Phillips is ineligible to play against his parent club

My prediction: I predict a 4-0 City win, but it shouldn't be forgotten that matches like this are exactly what the club fought so hard for by earning promotion.

It's a chance to compete against the world's best, so let's hope for positives to take into the Fulham match next week, where we're far more likely to pick up our first points of the season.

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Farage more trusted than Starmer in East of England, latest poll finds

News
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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is more trusted to represent the UK internationally than PM Keir Starmer among East of England voters, new polling reveals.

Why it matters: The findings highlight a significant decline in trust for the main party leaders in the region less than a year after the general election.

The poll, conducted by communications agency PLMR and Electoral Calculus, shows Farage ranked highest among named leaders at 19% in the East of England, ahead of Sir Keir Starmer (13%), Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (6%) and Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey (5%).

Nigel Farage
Nigel FarageAlamy

The bigger picture: One in three voters (33%) in the region responded "none of the above" when asked which political figure they would trust most, suggesting a broader decline in overall trust in UK political leaders.

By the numbers: The same poll indicates Reform UK would become the largest party in the region if an election were held tomorrow:

  • Reform: 21 seats

  • Conservatives: 10 seats

  • Labour: 4 seats

  • Liberal Democrats: 2 seats

  • Greens: 1 seat

In contrast: Nationally, Farage and Starmer are tied at 16% among those who named a preference, highlighting a more polarised national picture, with the Reform UK leader building more trust with voters in the East of England specifically.

What they're saying: "This polling highlights a significant decline in trust for the two main party leaders among East of England voters when it comes to representing the UK on the international stage," said Tim Miller , Managing Director of PLMR Genesis , the East of England branch of PLMR.

Reform and Nigel Farage have seemingly been able to capitalise on this and it's now translating into voting intentions, with the Party set to overtake Labour and the Conservatives in the region with the largest number of seats – a seismic political shift.

Between the lines: The poll suggests Reform would make strong gains across the region, potentially taking seats from both major parties:

  • Suffolk: Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket from Labour

  • Essex: Braintree from the Conservatives and Thurrock from Labour

  • Cambridgeshire: North East from the Conservatives and North West from Labour

  • Norfolk: North West from the Conservatives and South West from Labour

Tim Miller on a backdrop of Ipswich from above and political party colour overlays
Tim Miller of PLMR GenesisOliver Rouane-WilliamsIpswich.co.uk

The national outlook: The survey of 5,180 adults showed Reform securing 25% of the vote share nationally, compared to 23% each for Labour and the Conservatives. This would translate to 227 seats for Reform, 180 for Labour and 130 for the Conservatives.

The bottom line: "If Labour wants to keep Reform at bay, hold onto the gains they made in the East of England and remain in government in four year's time, the Party needs to focus on getting their message across more clearly to voters and instil confidence in their domestic agenda," Miller concluded.

Oliver Rouane-Williams speaking with an elderly couple in the town centre

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