Coventry against The Tractor Boys, Leicester v Derby, and Additional EFL League Previews
Greetings to a packed night of Football League as well as international football action. Our focus includes important second-tier encounters plus the pivotal final pool games in the Afcon tournament.
Preamble
Hello everyone. You are welcome to the checks writing desk rota the second-to-last football live blog of the year. We have an extensive EFL slate, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 18:00, while we will also monitor a close watch on both evening fixtures from the first group at this Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia as well as Mali facing Comoros.
We'll be focussing on the following games, with 19:45 kick-offs except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- The Coelacanths versus The Eagles (19:00)
- The Copper Bullets v Morocco (7pm)
Second Division Matches
- Coventry v Ipswich (6pm)
- Leicester versus Derby
- Boro v The Tigers
- The Lions v The Robins
- The Red Dragons versus North End
Third Tier Fixture
- Cardiff v Stevenage
Latest Lineup Updates
Coventry v Ipswich Team News
The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the second tier, looks like a thriller. These are the confirmed lineups.
Coventry (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; van Ewijk, the centre-back, Kitching, the left-back; Torp, Grimes; Sakamoto, the attacking midfielder, Mason-Clark; the striker.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, the midfielder, the forward, the defender, Bidwell, the defender, the midfielder, Perry, the player.
Ipswich (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; Furlong, O’Shea, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, Taylor; Walle, the playmaker, the winger; Azon.
Subs: Palmer, Young, the midfielder, the defender, Cajuste, Burns, the forward, Philogene-Bidace, the striker.
Referee Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: Group A Scenarios
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 this evening's last set of matches.
- The Atlas Lions 4 points, +2 goal difference
- The Eagles 2 points, GD0 (goals scored 2)
- Zambia 2pts, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
- The Coelacanths 1 point, -2 goal difference
Briefly, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents and win their pool. Zambia likely requires at least a point against the hosts. Comoros likely must to beat their rivals, who should advance with a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Angola v Egypt Update
The denouement of the second group at this Africa Cup of Nations has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, it's best not to seek out that information.
Second Tier Standings 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 |
