Could Ipswich Town Be Outside Contenders for Promotion This Season?

Ipswich Town have already gotten off to a great start in the 2023/24 Championship campaign (the second tier of men’s professional football in England). 

They are currently in second place behind league leaders Preston, and some people are already asking the question, could Ipswich Town be the surprise contender for promotion to the Premier League this season? Let’s take a closer look and find out. 

Can Ipswich really get promoted to the Premier League?

Far stranger things have happened in football, like Leicester shocking everyone and winning the Premier League in 2015/16, when at the start of the season, they were priced at an incredible 5,000/1, so it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think that Ipswich could get promoted. 

The last time they played in the Premier League was for a brief period throughout the 2000/01 to 2001/02 seasons. They won the old First Division (before it changed to the Premier League) in the 1961/63 season. 

They won the FA Cup in the 1977-78 season, and even won the UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League in the 1980-81 season. 

They are hungry to win and will be looking to restore the club’s former glory. They are currently in fine form and could very well be the surprise ‘outsider’ to get promoted. To ensure a sport in the Premier League, they MUST finish in first or second place at the end of the season. 

If they end up in third, fourth, fifth, or sixth place at the end of the season, they will have to win the play-offs to secure promotion. 

What are the odds of Ipswich getting promoted?

If you want some of the iGaming industry’s most competitive Championship betting odds, go to the official 32red online sports betting site, register your free account, claim the guaranteed 32red welcome bonus, and then head straight to their sports betting section. 

You will see that Ipswich are currently the fifth odds-on favourite team to win the league outright, behind Norwich City, Leeds United, Southampton, and odds-on favourites Leicester City. Let’s take a closer look at the odds:

• Ipswich Town – currently priced at 10/1 in the fractional odds format, meaning they have a 9.10% implied probability rate of winning the 2023/34 Championship outright
• Norwich City – 9/1, with a 10.00% chance of winning
• Leeds United – 8/1, with an 11.10% chance of winning
• Southampton – 9/2, with an 18.20% chance of winning
• Leicester City – odds-on favourite team to win at 9/4, with a 30.80% chance of winning

For Ipswich Town to finish in the top 2, you are looking at average odds right now of around 4/1, and to finish in the top six, they’re priced at 9/10. Don’t forget that these odds are subject to change at any time. 

In other words, there’s a good chance they could win, but they could also end up finishing in mid-table. You never know. 

Recent results and upcoming fixtures

In the first game of the season, Ipswich beat Sunderland 2-1 away. They went on to beat Bristol Rovers 2-0, Stoke City 2-0, and QPR 1-0 before losing 4-3 to newly relegated side Leeds United. They beat Reading in the second round of the EFL Cup before returning for league action the following week, beating Cardiff City 3-2. 

On September 16th, they travel away to play Sheffield Wednesday. Just three days later, on September 19th, they are away to Southampton, and then on September 23rd, they are at home to Blackburn Rovers. 

Considering they were playing teams like Shrewsbury, Burton, Cheltenham, Fleetwood, Morecambe, Accrington Stanley, and Forest Green just last year, it would be strange to see Ipswich playing the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea next year if they get promoted to the Premier League. It may not happen, but anything is possible in football.