The Sky Blues v The Tractor Boys, Leicester v The Rams, along with Additional EFL League Updates
Greetings to a busy night of Football League and international soccer fixtures. The spotlight falls on important second-tier encounters and the crucial last pool games in this Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Preamble
Hello everyone. You are welcome to what is arguably the penultimate soccer clockwatch of the year. We have a full Football League schedule, kicking off with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, while we’ll also be keeping at least a third of an eye on both night fixtures from the first group at this Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on these matches, all 7.45pm kick-offs except where noted.
Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures
- The Coelacanths versus The Eagles (7pm)
- The Copper Bullets versus Morocco (19:00)
Championship
- Coventry v The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- Leicester v The Rams
- Boro versus The Tigers
- Millwall v The Robins
- The Red Dragons v North End
League One
- Cardiff v Stevenage
Latest Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the Championship, could be an exciting match. These are the two XIs.
Coventry City (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, Grimes; the winger, Rudoni, the forward; Wright.
Subs: Wilson, the midfielder, the forward, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, the defender, the midfielder, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; the defender, the centre-half, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Subs: The goalkeeper, the defender, the midfielder, Humphreys, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, the attacker, Akpom.
The official Backhouse (Cumbria).
Afcon 2025: Group A Permutations
The situation is complex. That's often the case when some but not all third-place sides progress. Here’s how things look before this evening's last round of games.
- Morocco 4pts, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2pts, GD0 (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1 point, -2 goal difference
To summarize, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents and win their pool. Zambia likely requires at least a point versus the hosts. The island nation likely need to overcome Mali, who will probably be okay with a point.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
Egypt's Match with Angola Latest
The denouement to the second group at the continental championship is being covered. 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 |