Next up in our Promoted series is Ipswich Town, who secured promotion by finishing second in the Championship.
From the outset, it is important to say that any appraisal of the Tractor Boys will be of limited use for the new season, given that they’ll have a new manager in charge.
Therefore, this article is more about taking a look at what’s top of Gary O’Neil’s in-tray.
In a three-part series dedicated to Ipswich, we’ll feature an in-depth examination of their defence and attack. However, we start with an overview of the 2025/26 season and a look at O’Neil.
To provide a fan’s viewpoint, we’ve got insights from Ivan Fisher, aka FPL Reuser on X.
Data comes from StatsBomb, Fotmob and WhoScored.
- READ MORE: FPL promoted teams: What to expect from Sergej Jakirovic + Hull
- READ MORE: FPL promoted teams: What to expect from Hull’s defence
- READ MORE: FPL promoted teams: Who are the best Hull attackers?
IPSWICH IN 2025/26
Under Kieran McKenna, Ipswich finished second in the Championship last season, with 84 points, thanks to 23 wins, 15 draws and only eight losses.
There were some decent underlying numbers to back it up, too.
| Ipswich in 2025/26 | Rank v other Championship clubs | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 80 | 3rd |
| Expected goals (xG) | 79.2 | 2nd |
| Goals conceded | 47 | 2nd |
| Expected goals conceded (xGC) | 46.6 | 2nd |
| Clean sheets | 17 | =2nd |
| Possession | 56.1% | 3rd |
The Tractor Boys started the season poorly, with only three wins out of 10 matches.
However, they excelled from the turn of the year, with just three defeats from January to May.
The graphic below shows Ipswich’s six-match rolling expected goals (xG) and expected goals conceded (xGC) tallies in 2025/26:
Tactically, it was always 4-2-3-1 under McKenna, with a fairly settled XI (five players made 35 or more starts):
| Player | Primary position in 2025/26 | Starts (sub apps) |
|---|---|---|
| Dara O’Shea | CB | 46 |
| Azor Matusiwa | CM | 45 |
| Darnell Furlong | RB | 40 |
| Christian Walton | GK | 36 (1) |
| Leif Davis | LB | 35 (2) |
| Cedric Kipre | CB | 29 (3) |
| George Hirst | CF | 25 (17) |
| Jack Taylor | CM | 24 (15) |
| Marcelino Nunez | AM | 24 (12) |
| Jaden Philogene | LW | 24 (11) |
| Jacob Greaves | CB | 24 (1) |
| Jack Clarke | LW | 23 (23) |
| Ivan Azon* | CF | 20 (18) |
| Sindre Walle Egeli | RW | 18 (10) |
| Kasey McAteer | RW | 14 (14) |
| Jens Cajuste* | CM | 13 (17) |
| Anis Mehmeti | AM | 11 (7) |
| Alex Palmer | GK | 10 |
| Wes Burns | RW | 9 (9) |
| Ben Johnson | LB | 9 (8) |
| Dan Neil* | CM | 8 (8) |
| Sam Szmodics | AM | 8 (8) |
| Chuba Akpom | AM | 7 (22) |
| Ashley Young* | RB | 3 (10) |
| Conor Chaplin* | AM | 1 (3) |
| Chiedozie Ogbene | RB | 1 (1) |
| Cameron Humphreys | CM | 0 (3) |
| Nathan Broadhead* | AM | 0 (1) |
| Ali Al Hamadi | RW | 0 (1) |
THE NEW MAN IN CHARGE
O’Neil has previously achieved top-flight safety at two clubs: Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Cherries handed O’Neil his first head coach role in 2022, succeeding Scott Parker only 25 days into the new season. However, he was sacked the following summer, despite securing a 15th-place finish, five points clear of the drop zone.
In that season, Dominic Solanke (£6.0m, 130 points) and Philip Billing (126 points) emerged as Bournemouth’s top performers in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
O’Neil was subsequently appointed by Wolves in August 2023, merely four days before the start of the season after Julen Lopetegui’s exit.
In his first campaign in the job, they finished 14th, with both wing-backs, Nelson Semedo and in particular Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m), plus Matheus Cunha (£8.0m), the focal points of the system (more on that later). Averaging 4.6 points per start, Cunha plundered 12 goals and seven assists in 32 matches.
The 2023/24 season had some memorable wins, including a 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Molineux.
However, a poor run of 11 defeats in 16 matches in 2024/25 prompted O’Neil’s departure, with the club languishing in the relegation zone.
Then, after Liam Rosenior left Strasbourg to join Chelsea earlier this year, O’Neil took over and guided the French side to an eighth-place finish and a UEFA Conference League semi-final, where they lost to Rayo Vallecano.
He’s now at Ipswich, of course, having left Strasbourg after only six months in charge.
“Is O’Neil one of England’s brightest young managerial talents, someone who has a proven track record of guiding failing teams safely away from Premier League relegation, against all odds? Who showcased impressive tactical ability live on Sky Sports, became the first English manager to defeat Pep Guardiola, and took Strasbourg FC to the semi-finals of a European cup?
“Or has he flattered to deceive, failing to control an ill-disciplined Wolves side as they slid down the table towards relegation, with underlying stats that perhaps demonstrated that wins were largely driven by fortune? Maybe both. Maybe neither. At this point in time, Gary O’Neil is Schrodinger’s Manager.
“But with Ipswich taking a characteristically long-term view (remarkably, he is only the 20th Ipswich manager in the club’s history), they are placing a bet that he is the natural successor to the romance years of Kieran McKenna.” – FPL Reuser
O’NEIL’S TACTICS
Whilst at Bournemouth, O’Neil mostly used a back four, be it a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, with Solanke as the primary threat up top.
But there was much greater tactical flexibility at Wolves, where O’Neil frequently used a back three with wing-backs, which shifted to a compact 5-4-1 out of possession. In this shape (see example below), they posed a considerable threat on the counter-attack, with Ait-Nouri and Cunha at times superb.
In O’Neil’s most recent job in France, he reverted to a 4-2-3-1.
“You probably won’t have seen loads of it, but at Strasbourg we were 4-2-3-1 a lot. We rotated a bit with the ball to give us some different shapes. We had a lot of the ball and I like that. That is a preference of mine. But we will have to play Man City at the Etihad at some point and maybe we won’t be that on those days! And that’s probably about as much as I want to give you at this moment! You probably got the gist of what I mean.” – Gary O’Neil, via the East Anglian Daily Times
WHAT TACTICS MIGHT WE SEE AT IPSWICH
A 4-2-3-1 seems to be the most likely formation for Ipswich then, at least to start, with a more proactive approach used when possible.
Indeed, Town have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in both of their summer friendlies so far, before switching to a 4-1-4-1 after the substitutions.
This shape was used exclusively by McKenna last season, so the transition should, at least in theory, be smooth.
This is how Ipswich lined up on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign (via Transfermarkt).
Should O’Neil opt for a back three, which he could potentially test in Ipswich’s upcoming friendlies, Leif Davis could be one to watch in the ‘Ait-Nouri role’.
There’s clearly a lot to learn about Ipswich’s new boss, however, so the upcoming friendlies will be key.
“What is undeniable, is that Gary O’Neil is pragmatic and flexible, with an approach and line-up to each game firmly tailored towards each opponent. Equally happy playing four or five at the back, his teams tend to be well-organised, well-drilled, compact, with quick vertical transitions and defined pressing triggers.
“In fact, it is arguable that pragmatism is the one thing that Kieran McKenna lacked (refusal to have a centre-back on the bench for large chunks of the last Premier League season being a case in point). If O’Neil can add that to the structure, clarity of vision and sense of unity that McKenna instilled into this Ipswich squad, then there remains a chance that Ipswich can be more competitive at the highest level this time around.” – FPL Reuser
WHERE MIGHT O’NEIL STRENGTHEN IN THE SUMMER AND WHICH PLAYERS ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING THEIR PLACE?
At this early phase of the transfer window, there aren’t many assured week-in, week-out starters currently at Ipswich.
Pretty much every position looks subject to transfer activity in the next few weeks, with player recruitment key to their prospects.
“We’re going to have a fairly busy recruitment window bringing players from all around the world. And we’re going to need to be able to gel them all together and produce a team that can be competitive in the best league.” – Gary O’Neil
Indeed, Ipswich have already bolstered their squad this summer with the arrivals of Emersonn (£5.5m), Abdul Fatawu (£5.5m), Daizen Maeda (£5.5m), Kjell Scherpen (£4.5m) and Kayne van Oevelen (£4.5m).
Ivan provides further insight from an FPL perspective:
“Even before McKenna’s surprise departure, the consensus was that Ipswich needed to “do a Sunderland”, and invest heavily in a new squad, injecting much needed experience, physicality and athleticism into a team of “Championship all-stars”.
“Transfers are expected across every position this summer, with the 21-year-old Brazilian striker Emersonn being the first player in through the door, for £24m. Having failed to replace a Liam Delap-shaped hole in this position last season, Ipswich achieved promotion without a prolific goalscoring number nine, and surely further investment in this position will be forthcoming.
“It really is conceivable that Ipswich look to strengthen across every position during the transfer window, and until the season starts and the transfer window matures, it is hard to recommend many options for FPL.” – FPL Reuser
