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Welcome for the packed evening of Football League and international soccer action. The spotlight falls on important second-tier clashes plus the crucial final pool games in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Preamble

Greetings to all. You are welcome to what is reportedly the penultimate soccer clockwatch of the year. We have an extensive EFL programme, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, while we’ll also be keeping at least a third of an eye on both night games from the first group at the Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco hosting Zambia and Mali facing Comoros.

We'll be focussing on these games, with 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.

Afcon 2025

• Comoros versus Mali (19:00)
• The Copper Bullets versus The Atlas Lions (19:00)

Second Division Matches

• Coventry v The Tractor Boys (6pm)
• Leicester versus The Rams
• Middlesbrough v The Tigers
• Millwall versus Bristol City
• Wrexham versus Preston

Third Tier Fixture

• Cardiff versus Stevenage

Latest Team News

Coventry v Ipswich Confirmed Lineups

The early game, featuring the sides sitting top and third in the second tier, promises to be a cracker. Here are the starting elevens.

Coventry City (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; the right-back, the centre-back, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, the captain; Sakamoto, the attacking midfielder, the forward; the striker.

Subs: Wilson, Allen, the forward, the defender, the full-back, Latibeaudiere, the midfielder, Perry, the player.

Ipswich Town (4-2-3-1) Walton; Furlong, O’Shea, the defender, the left-back; Matusiwa, Taylor; Walle, Nunez, the winger; the centre-forward.

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

The official Backhouse (from Cumbria).

Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Permutations

Look, it’s complicated. It always is when some but not all third-place teams progress. Here’s how things look ahead of tonight’s last round of matches.

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

In short, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to beat their opponents to top the group. Zambia probably need a draw or better versus the hosts. Comoros probably must to overcome Mali, who will probably be okay if they get a draw.

A host of potential results and permutations.

Egypt's Match with Angola Update

The conclusion to Group B at this Africa Cup of Nations has coverage elsewhere. If you don’t want to know the score, it's best not to seek out that information.

Championship 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