The Sky Blues against Ipswich, The Foxes against Derby, and More Football League Updates
Greetings for the packed night of Football League and international football action. Our focus includes important Championship matches plus those crucial final pool matches in this Afcon competition.
Opening Notes
Hello everyone. You are welcome to the reportedly the penultimate soccer live blog of 2025. We have an extensive EFL programme, kicking off with Coventry v Ipswich at 18:00, and we’ll also be keeping a close watch on the two night fixtures from the first group at the Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia and Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on the following games, with 19:45 kick-offs except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros versus The Eagles (7pm)
- The Copper Bullets v The Atlas Lions (7pm)
Championship
- The Sky Blues v Ipswich (18:00)
- The Foxes v Derby
- Middlesbrough versus Hull
- The Lions v The Robins
- Wrexham versus Preston
League One
- The Bluebirds v Stevenage
Latest Team News
Ipswich at Coventry Team News
The early game, between the teams who are first and third in the second tier, promises to be an exciting match. These are the confirmed lineups.
Coventry City (a 4-2-3-1 formation) The goalkeeper; the right-back, the centre-back, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; the striker.
Subs: Wilson, the midfielder, Simms, the defender, Bidwell, the defender, Eccles, the youngster, the player.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; Furlong, O’Shea, Kipre, the left-back; the midfielder, Taylor; Walle, the playmaker, the winger; Azon.
Subs: Palmer, the defender, the midfielder, Humphreys, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, Philogene-Bidace, the striker.
The official Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios
It's a tricky picture. It always is where only some third-place teams progress. This is the current state before this evening's final set of matches.
- The Atlas Lions 4pts, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2pts, 0 goal difference (goals scored 2)
- The Copper Bullets 2pts, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1pt, GD-2
In short, Morocco is likely safe but will want to defeat their opponents to top their pool. Zambia probably need a draw or better against the hosts. The island nation probably need to overcome their rivals, who will probably be okay if they get a point.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
Angola v Egypt 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 |
