At the moment, it appears as if all of Ipswich's Christmas - related aspirations are being fulfilled. Kieran McKenna's team is now on the brink of escaping the bottom three positions in the league.

In their last two Premier League matches, they have amassed four points and scored four goals. This is equivalent to the combined achievements in the seven games that preceded these two fixtures. As a result, they have drawn level on points with Wolves, who are currently in 17th place.

After a narrow defeat at the Emirates against Arsenal during the Boxing Day matchday, Ipswich then beat Chelsea 2-0 at Portman Road to finish 2024, and they almost made a dream start to the new year away at Fulham.

Only two penalties denied them a win at Craven Cottage, with an injury-time strike from Raul Jimenez forcing a draw, after Liam Delap had put them ahead for a second time.

Those four points have moved the Tractor Boys above Leicester City, and brought Everton right back into trouble, just one point further ahead.

McKenna's side have been efficient on their return to the top flight, averaging just 6.1 shots-per-game from open play, but still managing to average a goal every game so far.

Form at home had been a huge concern in the early stages of the season, but after getting their first win at the 10th attempt against Chelsea, they followed that up with another against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Next up for the hosts are Brighton, who have been the draw specialists in the Premier League this season, and could only manage a 0-0 stalemate in this fixture back in September.

In recent weeks, those draws have continued to mount for the Seagulls, with their last four league games all ending level.

Not since Fulham in 2020-21 has a Premier League team drawn five straight games in the division, and the last time Brighton did so, they were a fourth-tier club back in 2000.

The FA Cup at least provided Brighton with an opportunity to get a win on the board, and they succeeded, thrashing Championship side Norwich City 4-0 at Carrow Road on Saturday, despite plenty of rotation from Fabian Hurzeler.

Brighton will return to East Anglia again to face Norwich's bitter rivals in this Premier League clash, hoping for a similar outcome, and to end the worrying statistic that Hurzeler's side have failed to beat any of the bottom four yet this season.

Too many dropped points have seen Brighton fall to 10th, eight points off the top four, and six points off the top six, with a mid-table finish now looking very likely after showing signs of competing for Europe earlier in the campaign.

The visitors have done well in their last two league outings though, holding Arsenal to a draw at the Amex, after also denying Aston Villa three points on home soil.

Ipswich will be without key player Omari Hutchinson for the next two matches after sustaining a groin injury last week that ruled him out of the FA Cup tie with Bristol Rovers.

Sammie Szmodics has scored some important goals for Ipswich this season, opening the scoring on four separate occasions, but he is set to miss out with McKenna revealing his foot is in a protective boot at the moment to help settle an ankle issue.

Chiedozie Ogbene is out for the season with an Achilles tear, and Conor Chaplin and Axel Tuanzebe are the other injury absentees for the hosts, with both not set to return for another few weeks.

No team in the Premier League is dealing with as many injuries as Brighton at present, and Joao Pedro joined that list in the past week after rolling his ankle in training, making him a doubt for the next few games.

Defensive duo Lewis Dunk and Tariq Lamptey should be able to return here after suffering with respective knocks and illnesses, while attacking pair Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh will be assessed before the game after sustaining minor injuries at Norwich.

Jack Hinshelwood is on the verge of making a comeback as well. However, this match will be too early for players such as Ferdi Kadioglu and James Milner. And it's highly likely that Diego Gomez won't be available either. Since joining from Inter Miami, he's still in the process of getting himself into top - shape.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Walton; Johnson, O'Shea, Woolfenden, Greaves, Davis; Morsy, Cajuste; Broadhead, Delap, J Clarke

Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Veltman, Dunk, Van Hecke, Estupinan; Baleba, Ayari; Gruda, Enciso, Mitoma; Welbeck