Ipswich Town, a tactical guide: How will EFL performers fare in the Premier League?

“I don’t think it’s a surprise, but we didn’t set out with that goal. We just set out to be as good as we can be.”

Kieran McKenna reflected on Ipswich Town’s back-to-back promotion to the Premier League in an open-top bus parade, celebrating a feat only four teams have achieved since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.

Ipswich followed Watford (1997–99), Manchester City (1998–00), Norwich City (2009–11) and Southampton (2010–12) to become the fifth team in the Premier League era to achieve consecutive promotions from the third tier to the top flight.

With a positive and gritty style of play, they finished second in the Championship behind Leicester City, securing an automatic place in the 2024-25 Premier League season after 22 years in the lower divisions.

“We want to play from the back and build through the thirds of the pitch,” said Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo. The Athletic last October. “I wouldn’t say we’re a possession-based team — we want to move up the pitch quickly, but we have a variety of ways to do that. We can go up the top, down the wings or sometimes exploit the pitch.”

Playing in a 4-2-3-1 formation, McKenna’s side have obvious characteristics on and off the ball. A common feature of Ipswich’s possession game is the left winger moving infield as a second No 10.

Last season, Marcus Harness, Omari Hutchinson and Nathan Broadhead filled that role, allowing left-back Leif Davis to advance down the wing and attacking midfielder Conor Chaplin to support the right flank in the build-up phase.

Depending on how far Davis advances down the left side of the pitch, Ipswich’s stance on the ball changes between a 3-2-4-1 and an asymmetrical 4-2-3-1 as he times his movements to help break down the opposition.

Ipswich generally advance the ball through the centre of the pitch, either finding Chaplin, the narrow left winger, or combining with the centre forward to reach them in a position between the lines.

In this example, away to Middlesbrough last December, Luke Woolfenden plays a line-splitting pass to the dropping George Hirst, with left winger Hutchinson occupying a narrow midfield position.

Hirst’s movement and heel to the right is the trigger for Hutchinson to attack the space behind a disorganised defensive line. Chaplin sees the opportunity and moves towards the ball…

…to find Hutchinson’s run in behind the defence, before the left winger scored to double Ipswich’s lead.

Another option to progress the ball is when Chaplin wanders towards the right wing. The positioning of the left winger means that Ipswich can still have a player to attack the spaces between the lines when Chaplin moves towards the touchline to support the build-up.

Chaplin’s winning goal against Blackburn Rovers last March began with him moving towards the right half-space…

…and offering himself as a passing option for Ipswich right-back Axel Tuanzebe to progress the ball. The Blackburn left-back cannot move towards the Ipswich midfielder due to Hutchinson’s positioning on the right wing, which gives Chaplin time until his midfield colleague arrives.

Ipswich’s number 10 lets the ball roll past him, uses his body to shield it and controls it with his furthest left foot before dribbling forward…

…and finding Davis’ run down the left wing. Broadhead’s narrow position also plays a role in this attack.

Broadhead’s forward run creates more space inside the penalty area by dragging Blackburn’s other central midfielder in. Davis then plays the pass back to Chaplin, who scores into the near bottom corner.

Davis’s runs down the left flank and impressive set-piece taking helped him rack up the most assists (18) in the league last season.

Ipswich’s attacking approach means Davis has a key role to play, and the team’s left wing role allows him to be the main creative hub on the left side of the pitch.

“The way I play in the team is more advanced than a normal left-back. I don’t really have anyone in front of me, and I have to do a lot of things on that side by myself,” Davis told Sky Sports last November.

He also explained how McKenna has improved his game defensively and offensively. “I didn’t think I had that quality in the final third, it wasn’t my strongest point, but now I would say it is,” Davis said.

“He worked with me in training to get more comfortable with the ball at my feet in the final third and to find passes rather than just putting it in the box and hoping for the best.”

McKenna’s game plan also allows Davis to attack the backline, helping him get into dangerous positions to make tackles and create chances, as illustrated in the graphic below.

Ipswich are constantly looking to find Davis in advantageous situations, whether that’s by combining and finding his overlapping runs down the left flank, or with long passes beyond the opposition’s defensive line.

In this example against Sheffield Wednesday last September, Luongo finds Davis’s run in behind the defence…

…and the left-back has different attacking options to choose from: Freddie Ladapo and Wes Burns attack the box, while Chaplin is in position to receive the pass behind them.

Ladapo and Burns’ movement forces the Sheffield Wednesday defence back, and Davis finds Chaplin close to the penalty spot…

…for the midfielder to score the winning goal.

Five months later, Ipswich scored an almost identical goal away to Swansea City. Davis laid on the pass for Chaplin, with Kieffer Moore’s movement towards the far post creating space for the midfielder, who scored another winner.

Cutbacks are one of Ipswich’s most important solutions in the final third. The positioning of Chaplin and the narrow left winger provides cutback options, which are complemented by the movement of the centre forward and Burns inside the penalty area.

Last season, Ipswich scored the second most goals (10) from clearances in the Championship, after Southampton (14). They also had the second highest expected goals (xG) from clearance situations in the league, as illustrated in the chart below.

Another aspect of Ipswich’s game that should boost their hopes of Premier League success is their set pieces. Recent seasons have shown just how important set pieces are in the top flight. They can be the difference between survival and relegation.

Last season, Ipswich had an impressive set-piece record both defensively and offensively. Measuring goals conceded per 100 set-pieces creates a fair comparison between all teams, and McKenna’s side had the fourth-best rate (2.6) in the Championship last season.

Meanwhile, their 20 goals from set-pieces meant they had the third-best rate of goals scored per 100 set-pieces (5.1) in the league, after Norwich and Cardiff City.

Off the ball, Ipswich can be proactive with their high pressing, an approach that mainly revolves around pinning opponents in wide areas using their front four. The centre-forward’s main task during the press is to force the opposition’s full-back to build through the wing, with Chaplin marking the closest midfielder and the Ipswich winger near the ball locking onto the opposition’s full-back.

Meanwhile, the Ipswich winger moves inside to either mark the opposition midfielder or be in a position to press the other defender. Here, Harness moves inside from the left wing to help stifle the Hull City defence.

When the ball is moved the other way, Ipswich right winger Burns moves inside to get into a position to press the defender if necessary.

The downside to this pressing approach is that Ipswich’s pressure can be broken if the opposition quickly move the ball to the other side or combine to find the free full-back. However, McKenna’s safety nets are Davis on the left and midfielder Sam Morsy covering the right wing.

Captain Morsy’s proactiveness off the ball and ability to win it back quickly solidifies the midfield alongside Luongo, strengthening Ipswich’s out-of-possession play. Last season, Ipswich conceded the fourth lowest non-penalty xG per game (0.98) in the Championship, highlighting how their defensive organisation limits the opposition’s high-quality chances.

Defensively and offensively, the Premier League will be a much sterner test for this Ipswich side. Better pressing teams won’t allow them as much time on the ball to combine through the thirds and more relentless attacking units will test their defensive solidity.

“We’re going to have to adapt again,” McKenna said after securing a second promotion. “It’s a massive leap and we’ll try to keep the best things we have and take them to a completely different level.”