Ipswich Town vs Sheffield United Preview: Smart Bets and Bet Builder Picks

Ipswich Town vs Sheffield United Preview: Smart Bets and Bet Builder Picks

Ah, international breaks. The ever-presently looming sense that football, for a brief period of time, will become senselessly quiet and dull whilst club football, for the most part, is locked away for a week or two. Unless you love the international break, or support a side un-affected by national duty, the time spent waiting for your club to return to action can be void and tiresome. Thankfully, this one is over and "proper" football will come cascading back to our screens and pitches once again (until the next break. Which is only a few weeks away. Sigh).

With the Premier League and EFL Championship tucked away whilst players within the two divisions jetted away with their countries, the action from England's top two divisions comes racing back to our lives on Friday evening, as two promotion hopefuls (maybe only initially, in both cases) face off at Portman Road, with Ipswich Town playing host to Sheffield United.

For those turning a betting eye towards this big second-tier clash, we've compiled three of our favourite betting lines going into this match, as well as providing three accumulator's to light up your bet slip heading into the weekend's action, of varying value.

Want more free betting tips and predictions? Head over to our predictions page for expert advice at the best available odds!

Football Park's Favourite Betting Lines

- Leif Davis 1+ Shot

- Both Teams to Receive 2+ Cards

- Michael Cooper to Make 3+ Saves

Davis Digs a Dig

Though neither of our combatants on Friday evening have been having a good time of things in their opening Championship clashes, we expect Ipswich Town to be the team more likely to win their first game of the season at Portman Road.

The Tractor Boys, though they have drawn three and lost one of their opening four league matches this term, sandwiching an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League 2 side Bromley, have seen more possession and taken on more shots than their opposition in every one of their games this season, barring their opening day draw with Birmingham City, and including their solo loss of the early fixtures - a 1-0 defeat to Preston wherein their opponents scored from one of their two shots of the whole game, whilst Ipswich were toothless despite 15 efforts on goal and 72% of the ball.

Leif Davis represents a good blend of decent value odds-wise as well as probability - the former Bournemouth man is a constant visitor to a game's attacking third, and has had a go at goal at least once in every game he has featured in this season. He's also started every game of the season as well, so should be a trustworthy selection before the teams are announced.

Odds - 1.57

Yellows Brandished In Tense Affair

Expect the yellow cards to make an appearance in this bout, at least twice for each team in our books.

Both teams have seen two or more players receive a card from their side in all but one of their matches in all competitions this season - Sheffield United's missing game being their opening-day battering at the hands of Bristol City, and Ipswich's being the aforementioned cup exit to Bromley.

Furthermore, Farai Hallam is the man in the middle for this affair, who is brandishing bookings out at a rate of 3.78 cards per game, at time of writing. With both teams desperate to get their seasons off and running, with the two sides languishing on the opposite end of the table from where they expect to be this term, we anticipate something of a grudge match between the two.

Odds - 2.62

Cooper Keen to Keep Clean Sheet

Michael Cooper has been a busy man so far for Sheffield United in between the sticks this season.

With Sheffield United losing every single match in the early stages of their campaign, their shot-stopper has been kept under fairly relentless fire from opposing attackers, being forced into five saves in his last two matches, and three in the match before then.

Ipswich Town have averaged 13.5 shots a game so far this season, and average 2.8 big chances for every clash as well. We anticipate, as mentioned, Kieran McKenna's men to be the driving team in this encounter with the Championship's bottom-most side, and can see this line landing once again on Friday evening.

Odds - 1.40

Football Park's Ipswich vs Sheffield United ACCA Menu

From The Spot

Ipswich Town or Draw - Double Chance

Goals Range: 1-4

George Hirst 1+ Shot on Target

These lines appear to be a formality, looking at how things have gone over the last few games for either side involved in the clash.

Ipswich Town will be the perennial favourites going into the game - they have been unlucky not to get their first win of the season yet, and doing so against a team also supposed to be promotion candidates alongside the Tractor Boys will do wonders to get their gears turning for the year, as well as holding the added advantage of a home crowd behind them. We're going with Double Chance, as Sheffield United's equal desperation to find a result may drag them to a surprise first point with under-fire manager Ruben Selles.

Ruben Selles is 5 losses out of 5 with his Sheffield Utd team…

Poor Bindon.#readingfc

— J (@itsjumka) September 10, 2025

Only one goal has been scored in each of Sheffield United's last three matches (neither of them coming from Sheffield United), and this range of goals has only been exceeded once out of the 10 games played betwixt each teams respective season.

Finally, George Hirst has managed to at least hit the target in three of his last five matches, and will be one to watch going into the game. The only real risk carried behind this line is Hirst's likelihood to start the match, with the Scotland forward withdrawn in place of Chuba Akpom in Ipswich's 2-2 draw with Derby County last time out. Not to worry, though - whoever leads the line will be good value in this market.

Odds - 2.10

From 30 Yards

Ipswich Town to Win

Both Teams to Score - Yes

Both Teams to Receive 1+ Card

Leif Davis 1+ Shot

If you want to stretch the odds, but reasonably so, drop the Double Chance of an Ipswich victory and back them to go the whole nine yards. Furthermore, lean on our previous best bets and slot in both teams receiving a card, and Leif Davis to fire a shot off in Michael Cooper's general direction.

Marcus Ifill fires home his penalty to give Bromley a famous victory over Ipswich 🤩⚪️ pic.twitter.com/32WFj5W9df

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 12, 2025

The most tetchy subject behind this line is the Both Teams to Score market. This market has paid out in every single Ipswich Town game so far this season, barring their horror show away at Preston, but has not landed in either of The Blades' last three fixtures, with the most recent trio of games all spelling 1-0 defeats for Selles and his side.

Rarely do you find that the markets for Both Teams to Score - Yes/No are very similarly matched in terms of value, but that is the situation present ahead of kick-off for this one. If you fancy Sheffield United to bag only their second Championship goal of the season against a team who have fired home in all but one match of their own, then this line could be nicely incisive for Friday night.

Odds - 8.00

From The Halfway Line

Leif Davis 2+ Shots

Gustavo Hamer to Receive a Card

Jack Clarke to Score or Assist

Azor Matusiwa to Commit 2+ Fouls

Both Teams to Score - No

Now, before we look up and try and catch the keeper off of his line with this block-busting 56.00 effort from range, it is worth noting down that you should not invest any more than a quarter of a unit on a longshot as... well, long, as this. A unit, for those unaware, is what your standard go-to stake is for each bet. This could be £5, £10 or whatever else. So in this case, thinking of a £10 standard stake for players here, don't post up more than £2.50 on a bet this lengthy.

Now, into the backing.

The line on Davis is self-explanatory here - Davis loves a burst up to the attacking regiments of a fixture, and has had an effort towards goal in every single Ipswich match this season, including two attempts in their most recent clash with Derby County. If The Blades stay unchanged from their last bout - a 1-0 loss away at Middlesbrough before the international break, then Davis will be squaring off with Ben Godfrey, more than likely, who has had a shaky start to life in Yorkshire, losing possession 26 times in two appearances, whilst winning just three ground duels out of nine. Davis may find further fortune than normal, unless The Blades can fix themselves up before Friday night.

Three options for Ipswich. Current system and two new ones after Selles talked about potentially switching. My favourite one is the back 3. I think you can have any of O’Hare/Barry/Brooks next to Hamer and Mee/Bindon is another toss up at LCB but right now I’d go with Mee

Ogbene… pic.twitter.com/GN6ZWg7wRY

— JFootball04 (@JFootball004) September 11, 2025

With the high likelihood of cards in this game, as mentioned earlier, Gus Hamer may be a likely candidate to enter the ref's book once again here, just as he has done in his last four matches. Yes, really. You would imagine that Ruben Selles has had a word with his star player in order to avoid losing him to a suspension, but this is a longshot, after all.

One of those yellow cards came in the league cup, so he'll need two more to get himself banned from league action. If that wasn't helpful enough, it's worth knowing that Ipswich's midfield department are masters at drawing fouls this season - both Jens Cajuste and Azor Matusiwa are combining to be fouled at an average of 3.5 times a game between them.

Chuba: “The international break has helped me. I feel good and I think day by day I’m getting stronger. I feel ready to help the team.” pic.twitter.com/JxdyPA3KRT

— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) September 11, 2025

Jack Clarke got his first goal contribution of the season in Ipswich's dramatic 2-2 draw against Derby last time, slotting home a 90+16' penalty to sneak a point back to East Anglia. We fancy him to get another against Sheffield United, as The Blades have conceded by way of a goal contribution from an opposition winger on eight of the nine occasions they have been scored on this season.

Matusiwa has given away six fouls in his four appearances so far this season, and with his likely opposition for the game being Sheffield United new boy Tahith Chong, we could expect him to continue that particular line again. Chong drew a foul on an average of 2.3 times a season across his games in all competitions with Luton Town last season, whilst Matusiwa averaged at least 1.7 fouls a game with Stade Rennais last season across all competitions. With a card-happy referee in charge, we like the look of the battle between the two.

And, finally, the Both Teams to Score market. If you fancy the flip side of the optimism displayed towards Sheffield United's attacking metrics in our mid-price accumulator, and feel as if Sheffield United won't break their goalless duck against The Tractor Boys, then it represents a nice cherry on top of a mammoth accumulator.

Odds - 100.00

All odds sourced from BetFred, correct as of 16:35, 12th of September 2025. Always gamble responsibly. Never chase losses, stake what you cannot afford or play beyond your means.