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Hello for the busy night of Football League as well as continental soccer fixtures. The spotlight falls on major second-tier matches and the crucial final group matches in the Afcon tournament.

Preamble

Hello everyone. You are welcome to what is checks writing desk rota the penultimate soccer live blog of 2025. There’s a full Football League slate, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, while we’ll also be keeping at least a third of an eye on the two evening fixtures 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, with 19:45 start times unless stated.

Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures

• The Coelacanths v Mali (19:00)
• The Copper Bullets v The Atlas Lions (19:00)

Championship

• The Sky Blues v Ipswich (18:00)
• The Foxes v The Rams
• Middlesbrough v The Tigers
• Millwall versus Bristol City
• Wrexham v North End

League One

• Cardiff v Stevenage

Recent Lineup Updates

Coventry v Ipswich Team News

The evening's opener, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the Championship, looks like a thriller. These are the confirmed lineups.

Coventry (a 4-2-3-1 formation) Rushworth; the right-back, Woolfenden, the defender, Brau; Torp, the captain; the winger, the attacking midfielder, the forward; Wright.

Subs: The backup keeper, the midfielder, Simms, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, the player.

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

Subs: The goalkeeper, Young, the midfielder, the defender, Cajuste, the winger, McAteer, Philogene-Bidace, the striker.

The official Backhouse (Cumbria).

Afcon 2025: Group A Permutations

Look, it’s complicated. It always is where only some third-place teams progress. Here’s how things look ahead of this evening's last set of matches.

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

To summarize, Morocco is likely safe but will want to beat their opponents to top their pool. Zambia likely requires a draw or better versus Morocco. The island nation likely need to beat their rivals, who will probably be okay if they get a point.

Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.

Egypt's Match with Angola Latest

The denouement of the second group at the 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