The Sky Blues v The Tractor Boys, The Foxes versus The Rams, along with Additional Football League Previews
Greetings for a busy night of EFL as well as international soccer action. Our focus includes key second-tier matches plus the pivotal last group games in the Africa Cup of Nations competition.
Preamble
Greetings to all. You are welcome to the reportedly the second-to-last soccer live blog of 2025. There’s an extensive Football League programme, kicking off with Coventry v Ipswich at 18:00, while we will also monitor a close watch on both evening games from the first group at the Afcon: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on these fixtures, all 19:45 start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros versus The Eagles (7pm)
- Zambia versus Morocco (7pm)
Second Division Matches
- Coventry v The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- Leicester v Derby
- Middlesbrough v Hull
- Millwall versus Bristol City
- Wrexham v Preston
League One
- Cardiff versus Boro
Recent Team News
Ipswich at Coventry Team News
The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting top and third in the Championship, looks like a thriller. Here are the starting elevens.
Coventry (a 4-2-3-1 formation) The goalkeeper; the right-back, the centre-back, Kitching, the left-back; Torp, the captain; Sakamoto, Rudoni, the forward; the striker.
Substitutes: Wilson, Allen, Simms, Kesler-Hayden, Bidwell, the defender, the midfielder, Perry, the player.
Ipswich Town (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; the defender, O’Shea, Kipre, the left-back; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, the playmaker, Jack Clarke; the centre-forward.
Subs: The goalkeeper, the defender, Johnson, the defender, Cajuste, Burns, McAteer, Philogene-Bidace, the striker.
Referee Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Afcon 2025: First Group Permutations
Look, it’s complicated. That's often the case when some but not all third-placed teams qualify. This is the current state ahead of tonight’s final round of matches.
- The Atlas Lions 4pts, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 2)
- The Copper Bullets 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1pt, -2 goal difference
In short, Morocco is likely safe though they will aim to beat their opponents to top their pool. Zambia probably need at least a point against the hosts. The island nation probably must to overcome their rivals, who should advance with a point.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
Egypt's Match with Angola Update
The conclusion of the second group at this Africa Cup of Nations is being covered. If you don’t want to know the score, don’t click the link.
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 |
