The Sky Blues v Ipswich, Leicester against The Rams, and Additional EFL League Previews
Greetings for the busy evening of EFL and international soccer action. Our focus includes major Championship clashes plus the pivotal final pool games in the Afcon competition.
Preamble
Oh, hi folks. Welcome to the arguably the second-to-last soccer live blog of the year. There’s an extensive Football League slate, kicking off with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 6pm, and we’ll also be keeping at least a third of an eye on both evening games from Group A at the Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia as well as Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on the following fixtures, all 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.
Afcon 2025
- Comoros v Mali (7pm)
- Zambia versus The Atlas Lions (19:00)
Second Division Matches
- Coventry v The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- The Foxes versus The Rams
- Boro v Hull
- The Lions versus Bristol City
- The Red Dragons v North End
Third Tier Fixture
- Cardiff versus Stevenage
Recent Team News
Coventry v Ipswich Team News
The early game, featuring the sides sitting first and third in the second tier, promises to be an exciting match. Here are the starting elevens.
Coventry (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; the right-back, the centre-back, Kitching, Brau; the midfielder, the captain; the winger, the attacking midfielder, the forward; the striker.
Subs: The backup keeper, the midfielder, the forward, the defender, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich (4-2-3-1) Walton; Furlong, the centre-half, the defender, Greaves; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Substitutes: The goalkeeper, Young, the midfielder, the defender, Cajuste, the winger, the forward, Philogene-Bidace, Akpom.
The official Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Afcon 2025: Group A Scenarios
It's a tricky picture. It always is when some but not all third-place teams qualify. Here’s how things look ahead of this evening's last set of matches.
- Morocco 4pts, +2 goal difference
- The Eagles 2 points, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
- 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 the group. Zambia likely requires at least a point against Morocco. Comoros likely need to overcome Mali, who will probably be okay with a point.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Angola v Egypt Latest
The denouement to Group B at the continental championship is being covered. For those wishing to remain unaware, don’t click the link.
Second Tier 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 |
