Ipswich are set to return to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years – here, we preview their FPL and wider fantasy football prospects for the 2023/24 campaign.

We take a look at their 2023/24 season and star players, Premier League predicted starting 11, set-piece takers and style of play under Kieran McKenna.

There’s also fan insight from lifelong Ipswich fan Zach Ward and a dedicated section for Dream Team and Telegraph Fantasy Football.

Our in-depth look at the top three Ipswich FPL players will be published nearer to the Gameweek 1 deadline here. In the meantime, read our analysis on all the promoted teams’ survival hopes, using years of Championship data.

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Ipswich: At a glance

Manager: Kieran McKenna

2023/24 position: 2nd (Championship)

Top scorer: Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead (13)

Top assists: Leif Davis (18)

Key transfers in: Arijanet Muric, Omari Hutchinson, Liam Delap, Jacob Greaves, Ben Johnson

Key transfers out: Vaclav Hladky, Kayden Jackson

The top of the 2023/24 Championship table. Source: Google

Ipswich stats and best players

Ipswich secured automatic promotion after a superb season in front of goal.

They scored 92 goals – three more than champions Leicester – the third best return from a Championship club since 2018/19.

Their goalscoring was higher than their expected goals (xG) tally, however this was still among the top four figures in the league.

Goals conceded may be a concern they will want to address for the coming season, with their performance outside the top-six best defences.

Their expected goals conceded (xGC) was more promising though (46.7) and good enough to be in the top three.

Ipswich’s stats in the Championship last season

2023/24 season best players

Despite a league-leading goals tally, Ipswich didn’t have one standout goalscorer.

Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead were tied on 13 league goals but midfielder Chaplin led for goal involvements, with eight assists.

Left-back Leif Davis was the chief creator, racking up 18 assists to go with his two goals. No player in the Championship set up more goals than the 24-year-old and he made the EFL team of the season.

Chelsea loanee Omari Hutchinson was another key player, with 10 goals and four assists. He was among six players who managed at least 10 goal involvements, a list that also included George Hirst and Wes Burns.

Conor Chaplin. Picture by Getty Images

What is Ipswich’s style of play under McKenna?

McKenna, at the time a Manchester United first-team coach, left the Premier League behind for his first senior management job in December 2021.

The appointment raised a few eyebrows. Not many people would have expected McKenna to be back in the top flight so soon – particularly with an Ipswich side who were going nowhere fast in League One when he joined.

Promotion hopes had long faded by the time Paul Cook was sacked but it was not for a lack of investment from the club’s new American owners.

The Tractor Boys needed something different and after steadying the ship with an 11th place finish, McKenna delivered it.

He has delivered back-to-back promotions, with a possession-based style of play providing no shortage of entertainment for the Portman Road faithful.

Initially going with a back three, McKenna has largely opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation since the latter stages of Ipswich’s League One promotion campaign.

From a fantasy perspective, the key takeaway from his tactics is the freedom given to left-back Davis to push high up the pitch, with the left-winger moving inside.

Leif Davis

Davis and a wide right-winger, usually Burns, then have three forward players to aim their crosses at, with cutbacks a common route to goals.

And there has been plenty of goals. As well as the 92 in the Championship, McKenna’s men scored 101 in League One in the previous season, 19 more than the next best total.

Ipswich’s rapid rise resulted in reported interest in McKenna from Chelsea, Brighton and United before he signed a new long-term contract in May.

Fantasy fans will now see if McKenna can adapt to the step up of the Premier League. Burnley’s relegation under Vincent Kompany should provide a cautionary tale to those expecting attractive football alone to be enough to keep a promoted team in the division.

Ipswich predicted lineup for FPL Gameweek 1

For our final predicted lineup ahead of Gameweek 1, see our regular team news article ahead of the deadline.

But below, we take a look at our Ipswich predicted starting 11 as things stand.

New signing Muric is expected to start as number one, while another arrival in Ben Johnson should feature at right-back.

There is increased competition at centre-back from Jacob Greaves, who could take over from Cameron Burgess on the left side of central defence.

There are also places up for grabs further up the pitch. Hutchinson finished last season centrally, although he can play anywhere across the forward line.

This could put Chaplin’s position under threat, despite his impressive numbers. Broadhead will also be in contention for starts once he returns from an injury that will keep him out of the first two months of the season.

New boy Liam Delap is likely to get plenty of minutes up front, especially with Hirst missing the start of the season through injury.

Ipswich predicted starting 11

Be wary of early substitutions and rotation

Ipswich start the season with some very difficult fixtures, ranking 17th on our customisable fixture ticker.

This should allow fantasy fans time to analyse how they will set up, rather than gambling on their players from Gameweek 1.

And this is further reinforced by McKenna’s tendency to make substitutions around the hour mark, as well as rotating his starting 11. Fan Zach said:

“McKenna plays games as 1 x 60 minutes and 1 x 30 minutes, so typically on the hour mark you’ll see a minimum of two changes. They’ll be sooner if things aren’t going to plan. It’s not uncommon for him to swap the whole front four after 60 minutes.

“I think Greaves will push Burgess out. McKenna is a rotator though, and we saw that a few times last season where he would draft George Edmundson in to match up against a certain striker. We’ll find out a lot more when pre-season starts for us.”

Fan insight: McKenna gives fans real hope for survival – not just good days out

A follower of Ipswich for 30 years, Zach has travelled the length and the breadth of the country supporting his beloved Blues.

A former Ipswich columnist and BBC Radio contributor, Zach gives his thoughts on his hopes for the season below:

“It’s cliché, but the biggest signing for the Tractor Boys this summer was tieing down the man who mastermind two successive promotions – Kieran McKenna.

“Just two years ago Ipswich fans were planning trips to Forest Green and Cheltenham Town. They’ll have played Liverpool and Manchester City before August is through.

“For the majority, it’s about enjoying the ride. It’s been 22 years since Premier League football has graced the Portman Road pitch, after all. But the retention of McKenna has given fans real hope of survival.

“This is a man whose side has only lost two home league games in the past two seasons – 10 defeats in 92 overall. A staggering 32 points gained from losing positions as promotion was secured last season. If there was a team that doesn’t know when it’s beaten, this is it.”

Kieran McKenna. Picture by Getty Images

Early investment promising

Turning to players and signings, Zach highlighted the investment in the squad further bolstered hopes that the Tractor Boys could put up a good fight in the Premier League:

“The ownership is giving McKenna the budget to give it a right good go. Town have already brought in five, four of which have commanded a fee breaking the previous £4.5m transfer record in 2002 for Matteo Sereni each time.

“Central midfield enforcer and captain Sam Morsy is the heartbeat of the team and pivotal to how Ipswich play through the press. His hard-hitting style will be giving officials in the VAR room plenty to ponder, so further reinforcements there could be needed.

“Left-back Leif Davis – who broke the record for Championship assists last season is another who will determine Ipswich’s success this year. His style is demanding, playing more as a wing-back and covering an awful lot of ground. Steady back-up for him, with youngster Cameron Humphrey⁩s possibly heading out for some loan experience, is likely another high transfer priority this summer.”

Ipswich set-piece takers

The Hub keeps a track on all set-piece takers on our dedicated set-piece page.

A summary of Ipswich’s likely set-piece takers is below.

Davis takes nearly all the corners, with more than 200 last season. In comparison, Broadhead took nine.

Ipswich ranked joint-sixth for headed goals on nine. Chaplin, Moore and Broadhead scored two apiece.

They won just three penalties in the league. Ali Al-Hamadi took two, scoring one, but is unlikely to be the regular penalty taker given he started one game of his 14 appearances. Hirst took the other and scored. Moore was off the pitch every time a penalty was won.

Penalties: George Hirst

Direct free kicks: Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead

Corners/indirect free-kicks: Leif Davis

Aerial threats: Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead, Kieffer Moore

Leif Davis. Picture by Getty Images

Ipswich stats for Telegraph and Dream Team

Sky Sports Fantasy Football is not running in 2024/25, leaving us to focus more fully on Telegraph and Dream Team in this section.

Telegraph bonus rules

Midfielders are awarded one bonus point for every two tackles they make per game.

Goalkeepers earn one extra point for every two saves, providing a source of extra points for the busiest shot-stoppers.

Dream Team bonus rules

Sun Dream Team had a complete revamp last season, with a new bonus point system created.

Players can earn one, three or five extra points, with the system taking into account various metrics including pass completion rates, accurate crosses, successful dribbles and interceptions.

Shots, tackles and saves are also a factor in Dream Team game.

All players get one point for every two tackles and there’s one point for every two saves a goalkeeper makes. A shot on target earns one point.

And each big chance created is also rewarded with an extra points.

How are Ipswich likely to perform for bonus points?

According to FBref.com data, Ipswich faced the fourth fewest shots on target in the Championship last season (166), eight more than Leicester (158) and three fewer than Southampton (169).

But goalkeepers from promoted teams are always likely to be busier when they move up to the Premier League, while clean sheets are usually harder to come by.

They are often budget options in Telegraph and Dream Team, although it may be worth seeking out a goalkeeper with better defensive prospects. This is particularly the case in Dream Team when European games begin, as keepers from the top teams will play more fixtures.

A midfielder with good tackle potential could however be an effective enabler – and Morsy had the sixth best Championship record in this category last season.

Sam Morsy. Picture by Getty Images

His 2.8 tackles per game was lower than last season’s bonus magnet hope Marvelous Nakamba though, who averaged 4.3 per game in Luton’s promotion year.

Nakamba was ultimately a bit of a flop – he averaged 3.1 per game in the Premier League but injury kept him out for a significant chunk of the season. Time will tell if Morsy proves a better bet.

Morsy’s tackling could come at a price. He received 14 yellow cards, the joint-most in the Championship, although he was not red carded.

Here are Ipswich’s leaders in the main Telegraph and Dream Team bonus categories. Stats are per game unless otherwise stated:

Saves: Hladky – (2.5)

Tackles: Morsy (2.8), Luongo (2.1)

Shots on target: Moore (1.1), Hirst and Chaplin (0.9)

Big chances created (total): Davis (15), Chaplin (13)

Dream Team bonus point leaders: N/A

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