The 9 players set to miss Ipswich Town v Southampton | OneFootball

There are nine players not expected to be involved for this weekend's clash between Ipswich Town and Southampton at Portman Road.

Ipswich Town and Southampton both endured relegation from the top-flight last season as they finished 19th and 20th respectively in what was a humbling experience in the Premier League.

Having returned to the second-tier with expensive but strong squads, that could still look very different by the close of the summer transfer window, they are both tipped up to be challenging for the title in the Championship.

Ipswich have started their 2025/26 campaign with a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s against newly-promoted Birmingham City in a game in which George Hirst scored a controversial penalty deep into second-half stoppage-time, before a surprise penalty shootout defeat to League Two side Bromley in he first round of the EFL Cup.

Just like Ipswich, Southampton have also lacked fluency in their opening games, needing two late and dramatic goals to come from behind to defeat newly-promoted Wrexham on the opening day at St Mary’s and then edging past Northampton Town by a goal to nil at Sixfields in the cup.

The two teams are going to look very different in a couple of weeks of the window to go with a lot of business to be done in terms of incomings and outgoings, and that has affected their pre-season preparations.

There are also absentees for this one, too, and here is a list of the players that will not be involved as Saints travel to Suffolk for the second game of their second-tier campaign this weekend.

As they face off in Suffolk, Wes Burns remains sidelined for Ipswich after the Wales international suffered a knee injury in clash with Liverpool earlier this year.

A slightly different reason for his unavailability, Omari Hutchinson is missing as he finalises a move to Nottingham Forest. The England U21 international wasn’t involved against Bromley at his own request, according to Kieran McKenna.

Jaden Philogene, who joined the Tractor Boys in the January transfer window, sustained an ankle injury in Town’s final pre-season game and missed the opener with the winger still a doubt for this weekend, too.

7 Sammie Szmodics

Former Blackburn Rovers striker Sammie Szmodics could be the key to promotion for Ipswich in the Championship, but he has missed the start of the season with an ankle injury and he remains sidelined.

Left-back Conor Townsend is the other absentee for Ipswich this weekend with the former West Bromwich Albion defender having suffered an ACL injury.

5 Joe Aribo

Joe Aribo has not been in the squad for Southampton in their opening games of the campaign due to transfer negotiations with other clubs, and there appears to be nothing different as to last week.

4 James Bree

It was confirmed by Will Still last week that James Bree will be out for a 'little while' due to an injury that the defender sustained in Saints' final pre-season game of the summer a couple of weeks ago.

Tyler Dibling has been training away from the rest of the first-team squad with Southampton, and Will Still has said it is up to him if he wants to come back and commit his future, but that has not been confirmed to have happened.

2 Samuel Edozie

Having missed their opening game of the season due to uncertainty over his future, Samuel Edozie is once again not expected to be involved as he attempts to force through a move to Club Brugge.