Ipswich Town v Brentford Betting Tips: Tractor Boys to keep up good start to the season

These two sides have had contrasting starts to the season with Ipswich having won all three of their matches so far and Brentford picking up just one point from a possible nine.

After losing a pre-season friendly 6-1 to Charlton Athletic, many were questioning why under-pressure manager Mick McCarthy was still in charge at Ipswich. However, McCarthy’s side have defied the odds to make a fantastic start to the campaign and they currently sit third in the table.

McCarthy teams are generally known for the defensive solidity but it has been the opposite so far this campaign where goals have been at the forefront of Ipswich’s matches with nine scored in their four competitive matches. Uncharacteristically though, they have had a bit of a problem at the back of late with four goals conceded in their last two outings.

The Tractor Boys have only played one competitive match at home so far this campaign (winning 1-0 against Birmingham City in their opener) and so it will be interesting to see if they can take their good away form back to Portman Road. Fortunately for them, they do have a good record on home soil in the Championship with just one defeat in their last nine, winning three of their last four.

Although it means little at this early stage of the campaign, Brentford currently sit in the Championship relegation zone with no wins to their name. Having said that, despite being only three games into the new season, psychologically, the fact that they are already having to play catch-up could have an effect on them.

Under Dean Smith in particular, Brentford have played expansive football with plenty of goals both scored and conceded and this season has been no different. The forward line has not been a problem this campaign and their record of five goals is the best outside the top ten. Defensively though, they have been a shambles with no clean sheet so far and seven conceded – the second-worst record in the division.

The Bees lost their only away league match of the season so far at newly-promoted Sheffield United and could only manage a draw in normal time in their League Cup tie against League One AFC Wimbledon before eventually coming out on top after extra time. Additionally, their away form from the end of the 2016/17 Championship season does not bode well for Saturday afternoon with no victories in their final three away from Griffin Park last term.

Ipswich are in superb form at the moment and I am backing them to continue their good run at Portman Road on Saturday. Brentford cannot defend to save their lives at the moment and I cannot see them outscoring this confident Ipswich side. The home win is priced at 47/25.