Coventry against The Tractor Boys, Leicester v The Rams, along with Additional Football Action Updates
Hello to a full night of Football League as well as continental football fixtures. The spotlight falls on key Championship matches plus the crucial last pool matches in the Afcon tournament.
Opening Notes
Greetings to all. You are welcome to the reportedly this penultimate soccer clockwatch of 2025. We have a full EFL slate, kicking off with Coventry v Ipswich at 18:00, while we’ll also be keeping a close watch on the two night games from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco hosting Zambia and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on the following games, with 7.45pm start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- The Coelacanths v The Eagles (19:00)
- Zambia versus Morocco (7pm)
Championship
- The Sky Blues versus Ipswich (6pm)
- The Foxes versus The Rams
- Boro v The Tigers
- The Lions versus The Robins
- Wrexham v Preston
Third Tier Fixture
- The Bluebirds v Boro
Recent Lineup Updates
Coventry v Ipswich Team News
The early game, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the second tier, looks like a cracker. Here are the two XIs.
Coventry (a 4-2-3-1 formation) The goalkeeper; the right-back, the centre-back, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, the captain; the winger, the attacking midfielder, the forward; Wright.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, Allen, Simms, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; Furlong, O’Shea, the defender, Greaves; the midfielder, Taylor; Walle, the playmaker, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Subs: Palmer, Young, the midfielder, Humphreys, the midfielder, the winger, McAteer, Philogene-Bidace, Akpom.
The official Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios
Look, it’s complicated. That's often the case when some but not all third-place teams progress. Here’s how things look before tonight’s last set of matches.
- Morocco 4 points, GD+2
- The Eagles 2pts, 0 goal difference (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2 points, 0 goal difference (goals scored 1)
- Comoros 1 point, GD-2
In short, Morocco is likely safe though they will aim to defeat Zambia and win the group. Zambia likely requires a draw or better versus the hosts. Comoros probably must to beat their rivals, who will probably be okay with a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Egypt's Match with Angola Latest
The denouement to Group B at this continental championship has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, avoid following that coverage.
Second Tier 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 |
