Why Ipswich Town will have 19th April 2009 on their minds as they eye Norwich City scalp in October | OneFootball

Ipswich have failed to emerge victorious in the East Anglian Derby for some time

The 2025/26 season sees the East Anglian Derby return to the Championship fixture list, with the first of the highly-anticipated clashes pencilled in for the weekend of October 4th.

Whilst the derby between Ipswich Town and Norwich City - two of the second tier's most historic clubs - has earned a reputation from onlookers for not having the same levels of ferocity in the stands at Portman Road and Carrow Road, earning bragging rights in Norfolk or Suffolk means everything to both sets of supporters.

The 2023/24 campaign saw Ipswich earn back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, etching Kieran McKenna's name into the history books and only boosting his reputation as one of the brightest homegrown head coaches across the UK.

Whilst Town supporters won't forget the past two years in a hurry, they will still be reminded by those of a Norwich persuasion that they still couldn't end a long-standing hoodoo in the derby, with the Canaries edging out the most recent contest with a 1-0 success at Carrow Road, a result which extended Ipswich's barren run against them to at least 15 years.

The landscape of both clubs has changed drastically since the last time the Blues got one over Norwich, and it will definitely be on the minds of supporters leading up to the aforementioned early-season clash this season.

Ipswich Town will look to end their 16-year hoodoo against Norwich City in October 2025

Much like several contests throughout the history of this fierce matchup, the clash between Ipswich and Norwich on April 19th, 2009 wasn't without drama.

At the time, Town found themselves in 11th place on 57 points with three matches of the season remaining, with very little but local pride to play for, whilst City needed the bragging rights to aid their fight against relegation to League One.

Dave Mooney silenced the home quarters of Portman Road on 16 minutes, although it would only take eight minutes for Alan Quinn to respond for Ipswich, who would turn the scoreline on its head after 62 minutes with a controversial penalty netted by Tottenham Hotspur loanee, Giovanni Dos Santos.

Jon Stead then became the last man in Blue to net a winner against their bitter rivals, making it 3-1 on the 90-minute mark, and although Sammy Clingan netted a consolation from the spot, Ipswich would see out the final seconds and put one of the final nails in Norwich's coffin as they were relegated at the end of the season.

"It was an important win for the fans and we deserved it in my opinion. Norwich threw the kitchen sink at us but we defended well and saw it out," Town boss, Jim Magilton, said at the time.

Norwich City will hope to add further Ipswich Town misery as hoodoo factor lingers

Whilst Ipswich fans will argue that their squad and club is in a far superior position to that of Norwich right now, it would feel particularly sweet for Canaries supporters if the aforementioned unbeaten run was to extend to 15 games, with hometown man, Liam Manning, now in the dugout.

The pressure will immediately be on McKenna's side to be among the early-season pace-setters even prior to the first derby game, the ninth of the season as a whole, and ending their rotten luck in this fixture could add to a plethora of potential statement results in the opening weeks of the campaign, as they also face the likes of Birmingham City, Southampton and Sheffield United beforehand.

Norwich are also expected to perform to a much better standard this term after falling out of the play-off picture under Johannes Hoff Thorup. and with Manning conducting some impressive early transfer business, a high-scoring and intensity clash looks on the cards once again.