Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa predictions as pundit ‘sticks their neck out’ and issues ‘distractions’ warning.

Pundits such as Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Paul Merson, and Mark Lawrenson have weighed in on the Ipswich Town vs Aston Villa clash ahead of this weekend’s Premier League match.

Aston Villa are now officially juggling three competitions, with attention quickly turning back to Premier League duties and an upcoming trip to Ipswich Town this weekend.

Unai Emery’s side advanced in the League Cup midweek by defeating Wycombe Wanderers, setting up a fourth-round clash with Crystal Palace. So far, Villa have maintained strong momentum, as predicted challenges haven’t derailed them. However, the longest and toughest task will be navigating the Premier League this season, and their next challenge is facing newly-promoted Ipswich Town at Portman Road. Although Ipswich haven’t secured a win since their return to the top flight, they’ve only lost to Liverpool and Manchester City.

Can third-placed Villa avoid an upset? While most pundits back an away win, one expert, Mark Lawrenson, has warned Villa of a potential 2-1 defeat. “I’m going to stick my neck out and call this my upset of the weekend. Ipswich have improved every game and always put up a good fight,” Lawrenson told Paddy Power. He also noted Villa’s Jhon Duran: “He’s lethal off the bench but tends to go missing when starting. We’ll see.”

Paul Merson disagreed on the outcome, predicting a 2-0 Villa win to Sportskeeda, but he warned Villa not to overlook Ipswich with Champions League football looming. “They play Bayern Munich at Villa Park next week—who would’ve thought that 10 years ago? They can’t get distracted by that game; they need to focus on Ipswich first.”

Chris Sutton also backed Villa, forecasting a 2-1 victory for BBC Sport. He acknowledged that Ipswich will likely score but believes Villa’s squad depth will see them through. Finally, on The Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, pundits like Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott predicted a 2-1 Villa win, while Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher went with a 2-0 victory, with Carragher adding, “No one’s beating Martinez.”