The Sky Blues against The Tractor Boys, Leicester v Derby, and More Football Action Updates
Welcome to the busy evening of EFL and international football fixtures. The spotlight falls on important Championship clashes plus those crucial last pool games in the Afcon competition.
Opening Notes
Greetings to all. You are welcome to the arguably the penultimate football live blog of the year. There’s a full EFL programme, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 18:00, while we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on both evening fixtures from Group A at this Afcon: Morocco hosting Zambia as well as Mali facing Comoros.
We'll be focussing on the following matches, all 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.
Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures
- The Coelacanths v The Eagles (7pm)
- The Copper Bullets v The Atlas Lions (19:00)
Championship
- Coventry v Ipswich (6pm)
- Leicester versus Derby
- Boro v The Tigers
- Millwall versus The Robins
- Wrexham versus Preston
Third Tier Fixture
- The Bluebirds versus Stevenage
Recent Team News
Ipswich at Coventry Team News
The evening's opener, between the teams who are top and third in the second tier, could be a cracker. Here are the starting elevens.
Coventry City (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, the captain; the winger, Rudoni, the forward; the striker.
Substitutes: The backup keeper, the midfielder, Simms, the defender, the full-back, the defender, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich (4-2-3-1) The shot-stopper; the defender, the centre-half, the defender, the left-back; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, the playmaker, the winger; the centre-forward.
Substitutes: Palmer, the defender, the midfielder, the defender, Cajuste, the winger, McAteer, the attacker, Akpom.
The official Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios
The situation is complex. It always is where only some third-placed teams progress. Here’s how things look ahead of this evening's final round of matches.
- The Atlas Lions 4 points, GD+2
- The Eagles 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 2 goals for)
- The Copper Bullets 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
- The Coelacanths 1 point, GD-2
To summarize, Morocco is likely safe though they will aim to beat Zambia and win the group. Zambia likely requires at least a point against the hosts. Comoros likely need to overcome their rivals, who should advance with a draw.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
Angola v Egypt Latest
The denouement to Group B at the continental championship has coverage elsewhere. To avoid spoilers, it's best not to seek out that information.
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 |
