The Sky Blues v Ipswich, The Foxes v The Rams, along with More EFL League Updates
Greetings to the full night of EFL and continental football fixtures. The spotlight falls on important Championship encounters and the pivotal last pool matches in this Afcon tournament.
Introduction
Oh, hi folks. You are welcome to what is reportedly this second-to-last football live blog of 2025. There’s a full EFL schedule, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 6pm, while we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on the two evening games from the first group at the Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia as well as Comoros v Mali.
Our primary attention will be on these games, all 7.45pm kick-offs except where noted.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros v Mali (7pm)
- Zambia versus The Atlas Lions (19:00)
Championship
- The Sky Blues v Ipswich (18:00)
- Leicester versus Derby
- Boro v Hull
- The Lions versus The Robins
- The Red Dragons v Preston
League One
- Cardiff versus Boro
Recent Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups
The early game, between the teams who are top and third in the second tier, looks like a thriller. These are the confirmed lineups.
Coventry City (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, the captain; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; the striker.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, Allen, Simms, the defender, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; the defender, O’Shea, the defender, Greaves; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, the playmaker, Jack Clarke; the centre-forward.
Subs: The goalkeeper, Young, the midfielder, Humphreys, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, the attacker, Akpom.
The official Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Afcon 2025: First Group Scenarios
It's a tricky picture. That's often the case where only some third-place teams qualify. Here’s how things look before this evening's last set of games.
- Morocco 4pts, +2 goal difference
- The Eagles 2 points, 0 goal difference (goals scored 2)
- Zambia 2 points, 0 goal difference (goals scored 1)
- Comoros 1 point, -2 goal difference
In short, Morocco are probably fine but will want to beat their opponents to win the group. Zambia likely requires a draw or better against Morocco. The island nation probably must to beat their rivals, who should advance if they get a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Angola v Egypt Update
The conclusion of Group B at this continental championship has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, don’t click the link.
Championship Table Snapshot
| 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 |
