The Sky Blues v The Tractor Boys, Leicester v Derby, and Additional Football League Previews
Greetings to the busy evening of Football League as well as international soccer action. Our focus includes key second-tier encounters and the pivotal final pool games in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Preamble
Hello everyone. You are welcome to what is reportedly this second-to-last football clockwatch of 2025. We have a full Football League schedule, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, and we’ll also be keeping a close watch on the two evening games from Group A at this Afcon: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Mali facing Comoros.
Our primary attention will be on these games, with 19:45 kick-offs except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- The Coelacanths versus The Eagles (19:00)
- Zambia versus Morocco (19:00)
Second Division Matches
- Coventry versus The Tractor Boys (18:00)
- Leicester versus The Rams
- Boro versus The Tigers
- Millwall v Bristol City
- Wrexham versus North End
Third Tier Fixture
- The Bluebirds versus Boro
Latest Lineup Updates
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The evening's opener, between the teams who are first and third in the second tier, promises to be a thriller. Here are the two XIs.
Coventry City (a 4-2-3-1 formation) Rushworth; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, Kitching, the left-back; the midfielder, Grimes; the winger, the attacking midfielder, the forward; the striker.
Subs: The backup keeper, Allen, Simms, Kesler-Hayden, Bidwell, the defender, Eccles, the youngster, Andrews.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; Furlong, the centre-half, the defender, the left-back; Matusiwa, Taylor; the attacker, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Subs: Palmer, Young, the midfielder, Humphreys, the midfielder, the winger, the forward, the attacker, the striker.
The official Backhouse (Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: Group A Permutations
It's a tricky picture. That's often the case when some but not all third-place teams progress. This is the current state before this evening's last set of games.
- Morocco 4 points, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2 points, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1pt, -2 goal difference
Briefly, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents and win their pool. Zambia likely requires a draw or better versus the hosts. The island nation likely must to beat Mali, who will probably be okay with a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Angola v Egypt Update
The final act of the second group at the continental championship is being covered. If you don’t want to know the score, it's best not to seek out that information.
Second Tier 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 |
