Coventry v Ipswich, Leicester v Derby, along with More Football Action Previews

Welcome for the full evening of Football League and continental soccer fixtures. The spotlight falls on important second-tier encounters and the pivotal final pool matches in this Afcon competition.

Preamble

Hello everyone. Welcome to the arguably this second-to-last football clockwatch of 2025. We have a full EFL programme, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, while we will also monitor a close watch on both evening games from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco hosting Zambia as well as Mali facing Comoros.

We'll be focussing on these matches, all 19:45 start times except where noted.

Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures

• Comoros v The Eagles (19:00)
• The Copper Bullets versus The Atlas Lions (7pm)

Championship

• Coventry versus The Tractor Boys (6pm)
• The Foxes v The Rams
• Boro versus The Tigers
• The Lions versus The Robins
• Wrexham v Preston

Third Tier Fixture

• The Bluebirds v Stevenage

Recent Team News

Coventry v Ipswich Team News

The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the second tier, looks like a cracker. Here are the two XIs.

Coventry (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; the right-back, Woolfenden, the defender, Brau; the midfielder, the captain; the winger, Rudoni, the forward; the striker.

Subs: The backup keeper, Allen, the forward, the defender, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.

Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) The shot-stopper; Furlong, the centre-half, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, Taylor; the attacker, the playmaker, the winger; Azon.

Substitutes: The goalkeeper, Young, Johnson, the defender, Cajuste, the winger, the forward, the attacker, the striker.

The official Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).

Afcon 2025: Group A Permutations

The situation is complex. That's often the case where only some third-place sides qualify. Here’s how things look before this evening's last set of matches.

• The Atlas Lions 4 points, GD+2
• The Eagles 2pts, 0 goal difference (goals scored 2)
• Zambia 2pts, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
• The Coelacanths 1pt, GD-2

To summarize, Morocco are probably fine but will want to defeat their opponents to win their pool. Zambia likely requires at least a point against the hosts. Comoros likely must to overcome Mali, who will probably be okay if they get a point.

Many possibilities, various outcomes, plenty of scenarios.

Egypt's Match with Angola Latest

The final act to the second group at the Africa Cup of Nations has coverage elsewhere. To avoid spoilers, it's best not to seek out that information.

Second Tier Table Snapshot