The Sky Blues v Ipswich, The Foxes versus The Rams, and More Football League Previews
Greetings for the full night of Football League as well as international football action. We'll be covering key second-tier matches and those crucial final group games in this Africa Cup of Nations competition.
Opening Notes
Oh, hi folks. Welcome to the reportedly this penultimate football live blog of the year. We have an extensive Football League programme, kicking off with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, and we will also monitor a close watch on both night fixtures from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on these matches, with 7.45pm start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros v Mali (19:00)
- Zambia versus The Atlas Lions (7pm)
Second Division Matches
- The Sky Blues versus The Tractor Boys (18:00)
- The Foxes v Derby
- Middlesbrough versus The Tigers
- The Lions versus The Robins
- Wrexham versus Preston
Third Tier Fixture
- The Bluebirds v Boro
Latest Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the second tier, looks like a thriller. Here are the two XIs.
Coventry (a 4-2-3-1 formation) The goalkeeper; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, the defender, the left-back; Torp, the captain; the winger, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; the striker.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, the midfielder, the forward, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, the youngster, Andrews.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; Furlong, the centre-half, Kipre, Greaves; the midfielder, Taylor; the attacker, Nunez, Jack Clarke; the centre-forward.
Subs: Palmer, the defender, Johnson, the defender, the midfielder, Burns, McAteer, the attacker, Akpom.
The official Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Afcon 2025: First Group Scenarios
Look, it’s complicated. It always is where only some third-place teams progress. This is the current state ahead of this evening's last round of matches.
- The Atlas Lions 4pts, +2 goal difference
- The Eagles 2 points, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
- The Copper Bullets 2 points, GD0 (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1pt, GD-2
Briefly, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents and win the group. Zambia likely requires a draw or better against Morocco. Comoros probably must to beat Mali, who should advance if they get a draw.
Many possibilities, various outcomes, plenty of scenarios.
Egypt's Match with Angola Update
The denouement to the second group at the Africa Cup of Nations has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, avoid following that coverage.
Championship Table 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 |
