Chelsea vs Ipswich Town Timeline & H2H Stats

To modern day supporters, it would be easy to think that Chelsea and Ipswich Town have rarely faced off against on another, given the fact that the Tractor Boys mostly played in the lower leagues prior to the 2023-2024 season. In reality, however, they were a side that spent quite a few seasons in the First Division at the same time as Chelsea, alongside a period playing Premier League football during the 1990s and early 2000s. On top of that, the two teams have met in cup competitions on more than one occasion. Chelsea defeated them 3-0 in the FA Cup in 1968, for example, and also won 2-0 against them in 1973.

In 1990, when English clubs were banned from Europe in the wake of the Heysel Stadium disaster, the Full Members’ Cup was created in order to give teams some extra income. During the period of time that it was known as the Zenith Systems Data Cup because of sponsorship, Ipswich Town and Chelsea faced one another over a two-legged tie that the Blues won 5-4 on aggregate. In the January of 1998, the two clubs met in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, with Chelsea winning on penalties on their way to winning the entire thing. The teams met in the FA Cup in 2009 and 2011, with the latter game finishing 7-0 to the London club.

A Matchup Dominated by Chelsea

Although it would be entirely untrue to suggest that Ipswich Town have never beaten Chelsea, the reality of the matchup between the two sides is that it is the London club that have come out on top more often than not. The very first meeting between the two sides came in the First Division on the second of December 1961, with the Tractor Boys winning 5-2. In the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge it ended 2-2, but then began a period in which Chelsea won every time the two teams faced each other, irrespective of the competition. Between the October of 1963 and the September of 1972, they won 11 times, drawing once.

The best period for Ipswich Town historically came in the 1970s, with the club winning six of the ten games that the teams played between the December of 1972 and the May of 1979. Chelsea won twice during that period, with another two games ending in draws. Although the Tractor Boys won again in 1985, it was something of a return to the norm in the period that followed. The two teams met one another 16 times between November ’85 and November 2001, with Ipswich Town managing just one victory. Chelsea won ten times, with the other matches ending in draws. In terms of history, this is a rivalry Chelsea have had sewn up.

Chelsea’s Full Match History Against Ipswich Town