Having already provided the lowdown on Ipswich Town’s new manager, Gary O’Neil, we now shift our focus to their defence.
In this article, we will assess the Tractor Boys’ clean sheet potential, then look at their key defensive options.
A piece on Ipswich’s midfielders and forwards will follow.
To help us with our research, we spoke to Ipswich fan Ivan Fisher, aka FPL Reuser on X.
Data comes from StatsBomb, Fotmob and WhoScored.
WHAT IS IPSWICH’S CLEAN SHEET POTENTIAL?
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | CS | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall record | 46 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 80 | 47 | +33 | 17 | 84 |
| Home | 23 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 43 | 17 | +26 | 10 | 50 |
| Away | 23 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 7 | 34 |
With the change in management, this data is of limited use, but we can see that Ipswich conceded 47 goals and kept 17 clean sheets in the Championship last season.
Both totals ranked joint-second in the division.
Of the promoted trio, however, they were arguably the best from a defensive perspective:
| Promoted team | Goals conceded | Clean sheets | Expected goals conceded (xGC) | Shots conceded per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry | 45 | 17 | 50.2 | 11.6 |
| Ipswich | 47 | 17 | 46.6 | 10.5 |
| Hull | 66 | 11 | 80.1 | 14.8 |
The Tractor Boys made Portman Road a real fortress, which is captured below.
Also, the defensive numbers have improved since the last time Ipswich came up from the Championship, when they conceded 57 goals and kept 15 clean sheets on their way to promotion in 2023/24.
THE PLAYERS
2025/26: APPS, GOALS AND ASSISTS
| Player | Primary position in 2025/26 | Starts (sub apps) | Mins | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leif Davis | LB | 35 (2) | 3,436 | 2 | 4 |
| Cedric Kipre | CB | 29 (3) | 2,837 | 3 | 2 |
| Darnell Furlong | RB | 40 | 3,829 | 1 | 3 |
| Jacob Greaves | CB | 24 (1) | 2,265 | 1 | 2 |
| Dara O’Shea | CB | 46 | 4,538 | 1 | 0 |
| Ben Johnson | LB | 9 (8) | 954 | 1 | 0 |
| Ashley Young* | RB | 3 (10) | 498 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Walton | GK | 36 (1) | 3,618 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Palmer | GK | 10 | 919 | 0 | 0 |
DEFENDERS
GOAL THREAT
Dara O’Shea (£4.0m) led the way for total shots (45) in the Ipswich backline.
For context, the only Championship centre-back to surpass this number in 2025/26 was Liam Kitching (£4.0m) from Coventry City, with 48.
Out of O’Shea’s 45 shots, 30 were from headers.
With an expected goals (xG) tally of 3.51, he really should have added to his solitary goal against Middlesbrough.
Remember, O’Shea ranked joint-sixth among all Fantasy defenders for headed attempts in his last season in the top-flight, with 15.
Leif Davis (£4.0m) also features in the above table, with 24 shots, mostly from open play, followed by another centre-back, Cedric Kipre (£4.0m). He scored three times, the most of any Ipswich defender, and has recently seen his loan from Reims turn into a permanent deal.
ASSIST POTENTIAL
Davis was Ipswich’s creator in chief, by some distance.
A superb crosser, the left-back supplied 71 key passes, thanks in part to his role on set plays, with four assists.
Fellow full-back Darnell Furlong (£4.0m) – who has a very decent long throw – is second on this list, albeit with a significant drop-off in creativity, with 22 key passes.
DEFCON POTENTIAL
O’Shea started 35 times for Ipswich in the 2024/25 season, when the Tractor Boys were relegated from the Premier League.
Hypothetically, he would have banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points in 48.6% of his starts, with 350 overall DefCons, which would have been the fourth-most of any defender that season:
According to WhoScored, O’Shea ranked sixth for blocks in the Championship last term, with 46, and 13th for clearances (292).
His rate of 8.74 DefCons per 90 minutes was the second-best of any Ipswich defender last term, only behind Jacob Greaves (£4.0m, 9.62 DefCons p90).
There is now a new manager in the dugout at Portman Road, of course, but O’Shea has clear potential.
GOALKEEPERS
In October, an injury to Alex Palmer (£4.0m) allowed Christian Walton (£4.5m) to claim the number one jersey.
Walton went on to secure the runner-up spot in the Golden Glove race. The 6ft 5in goalkeeper was also voted Ipswich’s Players’ Player of the Year.
He racked up 95 saves last season, placing him 14th among all goalkeepers in the Championship.
However, goalkeepers Kjell Scherpen (£4.5m) and Kayne van Oevelen (£4.5m) have both recently arrived at Portman Road.
Walton is currently injured, with Scherpen expected to be first-choice, but O’Neil’s recent quotes indicate that this is not guaranteed.
“There will be some movement. I don’t know where or what it will be yet. Christian [Walton] being out, how well Palms [Palmer] has done. He was good again tonight, made some good saves, was calm with the ball. So no real decisions have been made on who’s one, who’s two, who will be leaving. I’ve been here three weeks, so I’m trying to have a good look at as many as I can. But no, we’ll make some good decisions and we’ll make sure that the department’s in a good spot. Reg [Gilmartin] has been excellent with them on the training ground. So that will become clearer over the next few weeks, hopefully.
“We’ve not just signed him because he’s tall [Scherpen]. I don’t know if it’s surprising, but he’s good with his feet. He has a good understanding. He can still get better. He was playing in the Champions League last season. So he’s had some big experience. We hope he can help us. But Christian is more than capable of playing in the Premier League. Palms has played in the Premier League. So it’s not the number one shirt. It doesn’t just get given to somebody. Everyone has to earn it. But no, he’s a good addition. We haven’t seen him work up close yet, but we’re confident that he can help us.” – Gary O’Neil on Kjell Scherpen, via the East Anglian Daily TImes
FINAL WORD
O’Shea could be decent bench fodder at just £4.0m. He could perhaps even start for our teams in Gameweek 1, given his home fixture and DefCon potential.
However, there’s another £4.0m defender in the Ipswich ranks now: Issa Diop. You can read more about him here. Will he oust Greaves or even O’Shea, given that he usually plays as the right-sided centre-half? That’s one to keep an eye on in pre-season, if you’re looking at a cheap Gameweek 1 starter.
Elsewhere, given his struggles in his last Premier League season, where he scored just one goal, supplied two assists and generally found it difficult to cope with top-quality wingers, Davis will probably have to mirror Rayan Ait-Nouri’s (£5.5m) role at Wolverhampton Wanderers for him to become an option.
O’Neil tweaking the system to play him more as a left wing-back will be key for his Fantasy prospects, then.
“Of course, Leif Davis needs little introduction to FPL managers and is likely to be involved with some set-pieces. Whether he is given licence to join the attack like he was under McKenna, often to blistering effect, remains to be seen.” – FPL Reuser
For now, it’s probably only the centre-backs to consider then, although we’ll have to see who else O’Neil brings in between now and Gameweek 1.
“Less exciting, but potentially of interest from a defensive perspective is captain and centre-back Dara O’Shea. He could excel in a solid, pragmatic and well-organised Gary O’Neil set-up, offering plenty of DefCon potential.
“O’Shea played every minute of last season without receiving a single yellow card, loves a block, and was a regular threat from corners. If Gary O’Neil can improve Ipswich’s output at set-pieces, O’Shea could provide potential as fifth, budget defender in our squads.” – FPL Reuser
