Ipswich Town host Liverpool at Portman Road on Friday (4 September 2026) at 8pm UK time (3am Singapore time on Saturday) in Premier League Matchweek 3, with Bradley Barcola in contention for his Reds debut. Kick-off is 8pm UK time, 3am SGT on Saturday. Sky Sports carries the match in the UK.
Barcola available; Gomez and others out
Head coach Andoni Iraola said on Thursday that the France forward has trained with the squad after completing his move from Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the week and will be available if Friday’s session goes to plan. Whether Barcola starts or comes off the bench remains an open call, because he has not played since France’s World Cup third-place match against England on 18 July.
Joe Gomez is expected back in training next week after a pre-season muscle injury. Conor Bradley, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni also remain sidelined. Dominik Szoboszlai is in line to make his 150th Liverpool appearance and covered right-back late in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest after Jeremie Frimpong went off.
Ipswich form and team news
Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich opened the season with a 2-1 home win over Sunderland, then lost 5-2 at Manchester United on Sunday (30 August). Deadline-day signing Zian Flemming arrived from Burnley as the club’s 14th senior summer addition. Emersonn is expected to be available after a knee jar at Old Trafford; Azor Matusiwa, Jaden Philogene and Jack Taylor remain out.
Liverpool’s most recent Premier League visits to Portman Road in 2024-25 ended 2-0 to the Reds on the opening day, with Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah on the scoresheet. The Tractor Boys have lost their last four Premier League meetings with Liverpool across 2001-02 and 2024-25.
How to follow from Singapore
Kick-off is 3am SGT on Saturday (5 September). Sky Sports carries the match live in the UK. In Singapore, StarHub TV+ and Hub Premier 1 carry the Premier League live feed for this fixture. LFCTV Matchday Live starts at 6.45pm BST with build-up, live audio commentary and post-match reaction, and free live audio is also available through Liverpool’s Match Centre and official app.
The Friday night fixture opens Matchweek 3 ahead of Saturday’s 3pm UK slate and Sunday’s later games, including Arsenal against Chelsea at Emirates Stadium at 4.30pm UK time.
