Christian Walton says competition within Ipswich Town’s goalkeeping department can help improve the squad as they prepare to face Fulham in the Premier League at Portman Road on Saturday.
Ipswich sit 11th after the extended international break with six points from their opening four matches. They beat Sunderland on the first matchday and Crystal Palace on the fourth, but lost 1-0 to Everton in their most recent game.
Walton is expected to start against Fulham after featuring at Everton and signing a contract extension during the international break. However, his position is not guaranteed.
Kjell Scherpen started Ipswich’s first four matches after joining from Union Saint-Gilloise, although he made two prominent mistakes during the 2-0 defeat by Liverpool. Kayne van Oevelen also arrived from Volendam during the summer.
Walton believes the competition should benefit every goalkeeper at the club.
“We’ve always had a competitive group and the goalkeeping unit is probably the most competitive it has been right now,” he told the club’s website.
“Going into a Premier League season, you need strength in every position, so it was always going to be the case that we would strive for three, four, or five good goalkeepers at the club at a time.
“For me, it’s competition and competition is healthy. It helps me improve, and it helps the other goalkeepers improve.
“I want to be a goalkeeper who has played at the highest possible level and that competition helps to push you.
“My goal is to just play as much football as possible for Ipswich Town, but I also want to be good for the squad, a good person at the football club, to help however I can.”
Fulham are one of three teams yet to win in the division, alongside Tottenham and Coventry City. They came close to ending that run before the break, conceding a late equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Manchester United.
Manager Alvaro Arbeloa said his side were making progress despite having only two points.
“I’m so proud of my players. I know that we have only two points, but in the long term, when you are playing in this way, I think you will get what you deserve,” he said.
“But we need to continue. We knew that this month was going to be hard against top teams – we had Liverpool away, Sunderland away, Manchester United and Chelsea at home.
“So, I think we are improving game by game.”
Players to watch
Ipswich left-back Leif Davis has made 10 overlapping runs this season, with only Adrien Truffert of Bournemouth (17) and Arsenal’s Ben White (11) recording more. Davis also leads all defenders for off-ball runs into the attacking third, with 52.
For Fulham, Josh King has made more touches in the opposition box than any other Premier League player, with 37. Only Bryan Mbeumo and Julio Enciso, both with eight, have had more shots after carrying the ball than King’s six.
Match prediction
Fulham have never beaten Ipswich in four Premier League meetings, drawing three and losing one. That is their joint-highest number of matches against a team without a win, alongside their four games against Watford.
Ipswich could win three of their opening six Premier League matches for only the second time, having previously achieved that in 1993-94. In 2024-25, their last top-flight season, they required 19 matches to record three wins before being relegated.
Fulham have failed to win any of their opening five top-flight games for the fourth time, after 1951-52, 2011-12 and 2020-21. Their last six-match winless league run came in the final 10 matches of 2020-21, when they drew two and lost eight before relegation.
Opta gives Ipswich a 44.8% chance of victory, compared with 28.3% for Fulham and 26.9% for a draw.
