Ipswich Town: What the stats tell us about the first five games

When writing these analysis pieces last season, Town were always at the top of the charts for key stats. That was obviously never going to happen at this level, where the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool dominate. The fact that the Blues have already faced two of those sides won’t help the data and the small sample size has to be considered.

Nonetheless, from five games so far, Ipswich rank bottom in the division for expected goals (xG), shots on target per match, big chances created and touches in the opposition box.

They’ve only taken 38 shots, the fewest in the league by quite a way, and their conversion rate of 7.89% - albeit higher than Manchester United’s - shows that they’ll need to be more clinical in the box.

Defensively, they’ve got the tied-highest expected goals against (xGA) alongside Brentford.

It’s clearly been a big step-up for everyone, and that was always expected. These numbers, at this point in the season, shouldn't be used to criticise.

They do indicate a shift in style, however. Ipswich were never a side that focused on possession in the Championship, although they averaged 53.1% last season, the seventh highest in the division. This season, that’s dropped to 37.8%, the second lowest in the Premier League ahead of Everton.

Kieran McKenna has had to adapt Town's style of play in the top flight (Image: PA)

This isn’t necessarily to do with being a newly-promoted side, given that Leicester City sit 14th with 44.8% and Southampton are fourth with 60.7%.

In fact, when looking at the main attacking stats such as xG and big chances created, the Saints rank in the top half of the league, despite only scoring twice this season. Russell Martin will be using that as a point to show that their form will improve, but it also indicates that the eye test is equally as important as the numbers.

The defensive numbers are where Town stand out a bit more, considering that they’ve only conceded eight goals from an xGA of 11.1. They’ve shipped fewer goals than Wolves, Everton, Southampton, West Ham and Brentford, and the same number as Leicester and Bournemouth.

There’s obviously some fortune in there, such as poor finishing from the opposition, but it also shows good defensive strength, which has played a crucial part in Town collecting three points so far this season. They rank top for clearances per 90 and fourth for interceptions per 90.

This is backed up on an individual level too. Nobody in the division comes close to Dara O’Shea’s interceptions per 90 figure, while he also ranks second for blocks per 90, helped largely by a strong showing against Brighton. Luke Woolfenden sits fifth in the clearances per 90 chart with 6.7. Of course, the fact that they’ve shared their minutes to this point will also help.

Leif Davis has been limited going forward but still stands out with seven chances created, the most in the team. Although this is significantly boosted by set pieces, he has had opportunities to get up the pitch, such as his assist for Liam Delap against Fulham.

Behind the back line, Aro Muric’s save percentage may be the one that stands out in a negative way, with 66.7% placing him towards the bottom of the league. However, he sits much higher when it comes to saves per 90, and his goals prevented figure of 2.3 puts him fifth in the entire division. Like O’Shea, that’ll be massively helped by a big performance in the stalemate at Brighton.

Arijanet Muric put in a stunning performance to help the Blues keep a clean sheet at Brighton (Image: Ross Halls)

He truly was a brick wall in that game, preventing 2.45 goals and making six saves. He also commanded his box, making three punches and three high claims. He also showed an improvement with the ball at his feet and had the most touches of anyone on Ipswich’s team.

His FotMob rating of 9.3 from that match has only been bettered by Erling Haaland (v Ipswich and West Ham), Bryan Mbeumo (v Southampton), Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke (both v Wolves). WhoScored gave him a rating of 8.98 and named him the Player of the Week, just three weeks after giving him the lowest rating they’ve ever recorded (3.29) for his showing against former club Manchester City.

Ultimately, that game against the Seagulls was one where they knew that they couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with their opponents and needed to find another way to get a result. Kieran McKenna is adamant that, over time, we’ll see a much-improved Ipswich side that’ll be able to play how they want to play. Until then, they need to do whatever it takes to get points.

Some games have become a bit more scrappy, and there’s an argument to be made that they needed to get used to different refereeing standards in the Premier League. As a result, they’ve committed 14.2 fouls per match – the third most in the league – and have picked up 15 yellow cards.

Unsurprisingly, Sam Morsy has three of those, but Omari Hutchinson does too. Nobody in the division has more (although 12 players have the same). Ali Al-Hamadi, who’s only played 32 minutes across three games, has two.

Sam Morsy and Omari Hutchinson have already picked up three bookings this season (Image: PA)

In terms of threat, while open play opportunities have been limited, set pieces are another matter entirely. In pre-season, McKenna stressed that it’d be an important outlet for his side and the players have clearly taken that on board, as they’ve taken 23 corners so far this campaign, putting them in the top half of the league.

From those, they’ve scored once, which was Sam Morsy’s strike at Southampton. It feels like a matter of time before Jacob Greaves sticks one in the net.

Of course, these numbers purely paint a picture of the first five games, one of hard work, defensive resilience and an awareness that change is necessary. It also shows where things will need to improve, but that’s clear for all to see, and everyone is confident that it’ll change over time.

The next few games will be fascinating. Comparing these numbers to the ones in a few weeks time will give us a clear indication of whether they’re on the right track.