Coventry v The Tractor Boys, Leicester v Derby, along with Additional EFL Action Previews
Greetings for the busy night of Football League as well as international football action. The spotlight falls on key Championship encounters and the crucial final group matches in this Afcon competition.
Introduction
Greetings to all. Welcome to the reportedly the second-to-last soccer live blog of the year. There’s a full Football League schedule, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, while we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on both evening fixtures from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco hosting Zambia and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on the following games, all 19:45 start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros versus Mali (7pm)
- The Copper Bullets versus The Atlas Lions (7pm)
Second Division Matches
- Coventry versus The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- Leicester versus Derby
- Boro versus The Tigers
- The Lions versus Bristol City
- The Red Dragons v Preston
Third Tier Fixture
- The Bluebirds versus Boro
Latest Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, between the teams who are top and third in the second tier, could be a cracker. These are the confirmed lineups.
Coventry City (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, the defender, Brau; Torp, Grimes; the winger, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, Allen, the forward, the defender, Bidwell, Latibeaudiere, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; Furlong, the centre-half, Kipre, the left-back; Matusiwa, Taylor; Walle, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Subs: The goalkeeper, Young, the midfielder, Humphreys, Cajuste, Burns, McAteer, the attacker, the striker.
The official Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: Group A Permutations
Look, it’s complicated. That's often the case when some but not all third-place teams progress. Here’s how things look ahead of tonight’s last set of matches.
- Morocco 4 points, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 2)
- Zambia 2pts, 0 goal difference (goals scored 1)
- Comoros 1 point, GD-2
Briefly, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to beat their opponents and win the group. Zambia probably need at least a point against the hosts. The island nation probably must to overcome their rivals, who should advance with a draw.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Egypt's Match with Angola Latest
The final act to the second group at this Africa Cup of Nations has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, avoid following that coverage.
Championship Table Snapshot
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 23 | 31 | 51 |
| 2 | Middlesbrough | 23 | 9 | 43 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 23 | 15 | 38 |
| 4 | Hull | 23 | 2 | 38 |
| 5 | Preston North End | 23 | 7 | 37 |
| 6 | Bristol City | 23 | 7 | 36 |
| 7 | Millwall | 23 | -6 | 36 |
| 8 | Watford | 23 | 4 | 35 |
| 9 | QPR | 23 | -2 | 35 |
| 10 | Stoke | 23 | 7 | 34 |
| 11 | Derby | 23 | 1 | 32 |
| 12 | Southampton | 23 | 4 | 31 |
| 13 | Wrexham | 23 | 2 | 31 |
| 14 | Leicester | 23 | -1 | 31 |
| 15 | Birmingham | 23 | 1 | 30 |
| 16 | West Brom | 23 | -5 | 28 |
| 17 | Charlton | 22 | -6 | 27 |
| 18 | Blackburn | 22 | -4 | 26 |
| 19 | Sheff Utd | 23 | -5 | 26 |
| 20 | Swansea | 23 | -7 | 26 |
| 21 | Oxford Utd | 23 | -8 | 22 |
| 22 | Portsmouth | 22 | -10 | 22 |
| 23 | Norwich | 23 | -9 | 21 |
| 24 | Sheff Wed | 22 | -27 | -8 |
