Two sides in dire need of points collide in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon when Everton visit fellow strugglers Ipswich Town.

The Hatters have shown some resolve on their long-awaited return to England’s top flight, drawing four games on the trot before being smashed 4-1 at West Ham United.

Things were looking fairly bleak for Sean Dyche’s Toffees after starting the campaign with four consecutive defeats. However, a three-game unbeaten run has yielded five points ahead of an important slate of fixtures.

Here’s 90min’s preview of the clash at Portman Road this weekend.

Ipswich vs Everton H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has been hamstrung by injuries of late and could be without as many as six players on Saturday. Janoi Donacien, Axel Tuanzebe, Ali Al-Hamadi and Massimo Luongo are all sidelined, while there are further doubts over the fitness of Nathan Broadhead and Jens Cajuste.

In-form striker Liam Delap is fit and will be keen to add to his recent scoring spree. The 21-year-old has scored four goals in his last five Premier League games, including a brace which earned his side a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

Ipswich predicted lineup vs Everton (4-2-3-1): Muric; Johnson, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Phillips; Burns, Hutchinson, Szmodics; Delap.

Everton’s injury woes are starting to ease but there are still some key players who might miss out this Saturday.

Towering central defender Jarrad Branthwaite and left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko both took part in a full training session on Tuesday and could make long-awaited returns to the starting XI, while Seamus Coleman is making good progress.

Armando Broja, Nathan Patterson and Youssef Chermiti aren’t available.

Everton predicted lineup vs Ipswich (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Doucoure; Harrison, McNeil, Ndiaye; Calvert-Lewin.

Ipswich will have been frustrated by their inability to turn draws into wins on their return to the Premier League so far, but Saturday could be the day where it all finally clicks.

McKenna’s Hatters have one of the division’s in-form goalscorers in Delap, who will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing an Everton side that has conceded eight goals in three away matches so far.

The Toffees will be hopeful a few key players can shake off injuries in time for the weekend, but if not their alternatives may not be able to keep out an Ipswich outfit keen to register their first league victory of the campaign.

Prediction: Ipswich 2-1 Everton

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