The Sky Blues v The Tractor Boys, The Foxes versus Derby, and More EFL Action Previews
Welcome to a full evening of Football League as well as international football action. We'll be covering key second-tier encounters plus the pivotal last pool matches in this Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Introduction
Greetings to all. Welcome to what is arguably the second-to-last football live blog of the year. There’s a full Football League slate, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, while we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on the two evening games from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Mali facing Comoros.
Our primary attention will be on the following fixtures, all 19:45 start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- The Coelacanths v Mali (19:00)
- The Copper Bullets versus Morocco (19:00)
Championship
- The Sky Blues versus The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- The Foxes versus The Rams
- Boro v Hull
- The Lions v Bristol City
- Wrexham versus North End
League One
- Cardiff v Stevenage
Recent Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, between the teams who are top and third in the second tier, looks like a cracker. Here are the confirmed lineups.
Coventry (a 4-2-3-1 formation) The goalkeeper; the right-back, Woolfenden, Kitching, the left-back; Torp, the captain; Sakamoto, the attacking midfielder, the forward; Wright.
Substitutes: Wilson, the midfielder, Simms, the defender, Bidwell, the defender, Eccles, the youngster, the player.
Ipswich Town (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; the defender, O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves; the midfielder, Taylor; Walle, Nunez, the winger; Azon.
Subs: The goalkeeper, Young, the midfielder, the defender, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, Philogene-Bidace, Akpom.
The official Backhouse (Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios
It's a tricky picture. It always is when some but not all third-placed teams qualify. Here’s how things look ahead of this evening's final set of matches.
- Morocco 4pts, GD+2
- Mali 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 1)
- The Coelacanths 1 point, -2 goal difference
In short, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents to win the group. Zambia probably need at least a point versus Morocco. The island nation probably need to overcome their rivals, who should advance with a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Egypt's Match with Angola Latest
The final act of the second group at this continental championship has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, it's best not to seek out that information.
Championship Standings Overview
| 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 |
