The Sky Blues v Ipswich, The Foxes v The Rams, and Additional EFL League Updates
Hello for a packed evening of Football League as well as international soccer action. We'll be covering important second-tier matches and those pivotal final pool games in the Afcon competition.
Opening Notes
Greetings to all. Welcome to the arguably this second-to-last soccer live blog of 2025. There’s an extensive Football League schedule, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, while we will also monitor a close watch on both night fixtures from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco hosting Zambia and Mali facing Comoros.
Our primary attention will be on these games, with 7.45pm start times except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros v The Eagles (7pm)
- The Copper Bullets versus The Atlas Lions (7pm)
Championship
- The Sky Blues v The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- The Foxes versus Derby
- Boro v The Tigers
- Millwall v The Robins
- The Red Dragons v North End
League One
- Cardiff versus Boro
Latest Lineup Updates
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, between the teams who are top and third in the Championship, could be an exciting match. Here are the starting elevens.
Coventry (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; the right-back, Woolfenden, the defender, Brau; Torp, Grimes; the winger, Rudoni, the forward; Wright.
Subs: The backup keeper, the midfielder, Simms, the defender, Bidwell, the defender, the midfielder, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; the defender, O’Shea, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, the midfielder; the attacker, the playmaker, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Substitutes: Palmer, the defender, the midfielder, the defender, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, Philogene-Bidace, Akpom.
Referee Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: Group A Scenarios
Look, it’s complicated. It always is when some but not all third-place sides progress. Here’s how things look before this evening's last round of games.
- Morocco 4pts, GD+2
- The Eagles 2pts, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2pts, 0 goal difference (goals scored 1)
- Comoros 1 point, GD-2
Briefly, Morocco is likely safe though they will aim to beat Zambia and top the group. Zambia probably need a draw or better against Morocco. Comoros probably need to beat Mali, who should advance if they get a point.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
Angola v Egypt Latest
The final act to Group B 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 |
