Two newly-promoted clubs on course for a swift return to the Championship collide in Saturday afternoon's Premier League showdown, as Ipswich Town pit their wits against Southampton.
The Tractor Boys - as expected - were no match for relentless leaders Liverpool last time out, losing 4-1 to the Reds as they remain one point adrift of safety in 19th place in the table.
However, while Kieran McKenna's men are in with a fighting chance of staying up, the six-point Saints are as good as dead and buried in the wake of their 3-1 defeat to Newcastle United, another blow to their hopes of avoiding the Premier League's lowest-ever points total.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 71
Ipswich wins: 27
Draws: 21
Southampton wins: 23
Regular opponents in the top two tiers of English football, Ipswich Town and Southampton have now met on 71 occasions in all competitions, and the head-to-head results book is about as even as one might suggest.
The Tractor Boys do boast more victories than the Saints, albeit only just, as they have prevailed on 27 occasions compared to Southampton's 23 wins, and another 21 scraps have finished honours even.
That was the case in September 2024, as a fifth-minute Tyler Dibling strike was cancelled out by a Sam Morsy leveller five minutes into second-half injury time as Ipswich dramatically rescued a 1-1 draw at St Mary's, leaving their hosts utterly crestfallen.
Kieran McKenna's men also pipped the Saints to automatic promotion from the 2023-24 Championship, thanks in no small part to a pair of wins in both of their battles, following up a 1-0 away victory with an absorbing 3-2 success at Portman Road.
In keeping with Ipswich's theme of late goals against Southampton, Jeremy Sarmiento was the hero on that occasion with an incredible 97th-minute winner, one that ended the Tractor Boys' eight-match sequence without a victory against the Saints.
Between 2008 and 2015, Southampton beat Ipswich on four occasions while also playing out four stalemates, but the East Anglian side held the bragging rights during the earliest days of this fixture.
Indeed, Ipswich lost just one of their first 16 matches with Southampton across all competitions, although that sole defeat was a 7-1 FA Cup slaughter in 1961, the second-biggest margin of victory in this fixture after a 7-0 win for the Tractor Boys in a 1974 Division One game.
Former Southampton striker Steve Moran tops the individual goalscorers' list in this fixture with nine strikes against Ipswich, while Alan Brazil and Paul Mariner managed seven each for the Tractor Boys.
Last 20 meetings
Sep 21, 2024: Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (Premier League)
Apr 01, 2024: Ipswich 3-2 Southampton (Championship)
Sep 19, 2023: Southampton 0-1 Ipswich (Championship)
Jan 14, 2015: Ipswich 0-1 Southampton (FA Cup Third Round)
Jan 04, 2015: Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (FA Cup Third Round)
Mar 06, 2012: Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (Championship)
Aug 16, 2011: Ipswich 2-5 Southampton (Championship)
Jan 23, 2010: Southampton 2-1 Ipswich (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Mar 03, 2009: Ipswich 0-3 Southampton (Championship)
Sep 17, 2008: Southampton 2-2 Ipswich (Championship)
Mar 01, 2008: Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (Championship)
Nov 27, 2007: Ipswich 2-0 Southampton (Championship)
Feb 24, 2007: Southampton 1-0 Ipswich (Championship)
Sep 09, 2006: Ipswich 2-1 Southampton (Championship)
Jan 21, 2006: Southampton 0-2 Ipswich (Championship)
Sep 13, 2005: Ipswich 2-2 Southampton (Championship)
Mar 02, 2002: Ipswich 1-3 Southampton (Premier League)
Oct 24, 2001: Southampton 3-3 Ipswich (Premier League)
Apr 02, 2001: Southampton 0-3 Ipswich (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2000: Ipswich 3-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Sep 21, 2024: Southampton 1-1 Ipswich (Premier League)
Mar 02, 2002: Ipswich 1-3 Southampton (Premier League)
Oct 24, 2001: Southampton 3-3 Ipswich (Premier League)
Apr 02, 2001: Southampton 0-3 Ipswich (Premier League)
Dec 16, 2000: Ipswich 3-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Feb 25, 1995: Ipswich 2-1 Southampton (Premier League)
Oct 01, 1994: Southampton 3-1 Ipswich (Premier League)
Dec 08, 1993: Southampton 0-1 Ipswich (Premier League)
Aug 17, 1993: Ipswich 1-0 Southampton (Premier League)
Mar 13, 1993: Southampton 4-3 Ipswich (Premier League)
Ben Knapton
