Ipswich vs Middlesbrough Preview: Top-Five Showdown at Portman Road Could Define the Promotion Race

Last updated: Friday 17 April 2026. Two days out, and this one is shaping up to be an absolute belter.

Right. We are two days away from what might genuinely be one of the matches of the Championship season. Ipswich at home, Portman Road rocking, Middlesbrough rolling into town sitting fifth in the table. The stakes are enormous. The vibes are immaculate. Let's get into it.

Where Things Stand

Ipswich are second in the Championship. Second! Look at the fixtures they've navigated to get there. 71 goals scored this season, 42 conceded. That is a goal difference that screams promotion contenders. They are not fluking this. They are genuinely, properly good.

Middlesbrough come in fifth. Five. Which honestly feels disrespectful given how consistent they've been. 62 goals scored, 42 conceded on the road this season. Same goals against as Ipswich, which tells you something. Both of these teams can defend when they need to. Both of them can also absolutely turn it on going forward.

This is not a game between a good team and a bad team. This is top-five versus second. This matters for both sides in completely different ways, and that tension is what makes Sunday so tasty.

The Big Picture Stakes

Look at the fixtures remaining for both clubs and you realise Sunday is massive. Ipswich need points to keep that second spot nailed down. The automatic promotion places are everything. Nobody wants the lottery of the play-offs if they can avoid it, and Ipswich are close enough to the summit that three points here could be absolutely decisive.

Middlesbrough though... mate. They are very much still in this. Fifth place feels like it undersells them. A win at Portman Road would be a genuine statement. It would crank the pressure up on the teams above them and confirm them as proper contenders rather than hopeful ones.

Both managers will know exactly what this game means. I don't need to spell it out for them and you don't need me to spell it out either. Big game. Massive.

Goals, Goals, Goals

Can we just talk about the attacking output from both sides for a second? Ipswich have scored 71 times this Championship season. Seventy-one. That is not a team that sits back and grinds. That is a team with genuine quality in the final third. Marcus would probably pull up some xG stat here, and honestly I actually looked at the numbers for once and the raw goal tallies back up what your eyes tell you watching these sides. They score. A lot.

Middlesbrough are not far behind on 62 goals. Between these two teams that is 133 goals across the season. One hundred and thirty three! And yet both defences have conceded exactly 42 goals each. Identical. Which means both teams score freely but are not completely open at the back.

This is the kind of match that could end 1-0 or 4-3 and I would not be shocked by either. Honestly. The ingredients are all there for goals though, and the BTTS market is screaming at me from across the room.

Portman Road: The Home Advantage

Listen, Portman Road on a big Sunday afternoon is a different kind of atmosphere. Ipswich fans have waited a long time to watch football at this level again and they know the season could hinge on these final weeks. The crowd will be up for it. That matters. Not in a fluffy romantic way, in a real tangible way. Pressing intensity, tempo, the willingness to run that extra yard. Home advantage is real and Ipswich's attacking output across the season tells you they have been lethal in front of their own supporters.

Middlesbrough will need a disciplined defensive shape early on. Let Portman Road settle. Don't concede in the first twenty minutes. If they can get to half-time level or nicked ahead somehow, scenes.

Near-Final Odds and My Best Bets

Right. The odds as of Friday morning are sitting around Ipswich at roughly 4/5 to win, the draw at around 13/5, and Middlesbrough at somewhere near 16/5 to take all three points. Those Boro odds feel a touch long to me given how good they have been this season, don't @ me.

BTTS is coming in around 4/6 which I think is fair given everything we have just discussed about the goals these sides produce.

Over 2.5 goals is sitting around 7/10. Again, seems reasonable. Again, I like it.

I'm going big on this... Ipswich to win and both teams to score. That combination is around 9/4 depending on your bookmaker and I think it reflects the most likely outcome. Ipswich nick it at home, Boro get one back because they always do, and Portman Road breathes a collective sigh of relief at the final whistle.

Jay's Saturday Special... Well, Sunday Special

You know the drill. The acca is calling. My hit rate is absolutely diabolical and I lean into that fully. Here is this weekend's punt...

Ipswich to win, BTTS, over 2.5 goals, Middlesbrough to score first goalscorer from their forward line, and just for the chaos of it, correct score 2-1 to Ipswich as a cheeky addition. Stick a fiver on it each way and if it lands you are telling people about it for weeks. If it doesn't, and statistically it probably won't, back to the drawing board. You heard it here first.

The Call

Honestly? I reckon Ipswich take this. Home advantage, the crowd, and the fact that 71 goals this season does not happen by accident. But Middlesbrough are genuinely good and I would not be shocked if they nicked a point or even three. This is not a foregone conclusion and anyone telling you it is has not watched enough Championship football this season.

Get yourself to Portman Road if you can. Or get it on the telly. Get a cup of tea on. This is going to be a good one. Trust the process.