Ipswich vs Maidstone United tips & FA Cup predictions

Non-league side’s dream to end

Whatever happens this weekend, the 2023/24 season has already been a historic one for Maidstone United.

This is the first time the club have reached the fourth round of the FA Cup following victories over Steyning Town, Winchester City, Torquay United, Weston-super-Mare, Chesham United, Barrow and Stevenage in previous rounds.

This is the first time in their history that Maidstone will face a team from the top two tiers of the English game in a competitive match and unsurprisingly they are big outsiders in the FA Cup odds to advance.

George Elokobi’s side will be determined to make the most of the occasion, but it is hard to envisage anything other than a comfortable home win in this one.

Promoted from League One last season, Ipswich are second in the Championship at the time of writing.

They have wobbled a little of late, but a spirited performance saw them earn a 1-1 draw against league leaders Leicester City last time out.

Ipswich have only scored four goals in their last six Championship matches, but their attack should generate plenty of chances against a Maidstone side that have not won any of their last three games in the National League South.

Maidstone will do well to find the back of the net

Maidstone only needed one goal to get past Stevenage in the third round earlier this month. Sam Corne converted from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, after which Maidstone held on for a clean sheet that took them through to the next round.

That scrappy 1-0 victory summed them up nicely with United far from prolific in front of goal. They sit fourth in the National League, yet Elokobi’s team have been outscored by eight other sides in the division. 

That suggests they will struggle to breach an Ipswich backline that has been reasonably solid of late. 

Across the campaign as a whole, the Tractor Boys have given up 1.25 goals per Championship game. That is an inferior record to many of the other teams battling for promotion to the Premier League.

However, we must consider the gulf in class between a high-flying side from the second tier and one from the sixth. 

Maidstone have done brilliantly well to reach this stage of the FA Cup, but a goal will probably be beyond them on Saturday. 

Gambling sites are down on Maidstone’s chances of scoring too and we fancy Ipswich to keep a clean sheet on their way to victory.

Broadhead can add to tally for season

Ipswich have shared the goals around this season. Despite their lofty standing in the Championship, none of their players has reached double figures in the league.

Head coach Kieran McKenna will not mind that too much. There are advantages to not being reliant on a single scorer. 

Even so, the Tractor Boys have generally looked to two players in the final third: Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead.

The former is the favourite in the anytime scorer market on betting apps for the visit of Maidstone, but we think the latter potentially represents better value for money.

There is certainly a little more risk involved in tipping Broadhead. He did not start the match against Leicester earlier this week, while his last 10 outings have produced just one goal.

But McKenna will see this as a chance for Broadhead to rediscover his form. A strike or two against Maidstone would boost the Welshman’s confidence ahead of crunch clashes with Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion and Millwall over the next couple of weeks.

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A London-based football specialist, Greg Lea has written for multiple top publications including The Guardian and ESPN with coverage of the Premier League, Champions League and World Cup. He contributes football betting tips to The Independent.