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Hello for a busy night of Football League as well as international soccer action. Our focus includes important second-tier matches and those pivotal last group matches in the Afcon tournament.

Opening Notes

Greetings to all. You are welcome to the reportedly the penultimate football clockwatch of the year. There’s an extensive EFL slate, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, while we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on the two night games from the first group at this Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco as well as Mali facing Comoros.

We'll be focussing on the following fixtures, with 19:45 kick-offs unless stated.

Afcon 2025

• Comoros versus Mali (7pm)
• Zambia v Morocco (7pm)

Second Division Matches

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

Third Tier Fixture

• The Bluebirds versus Stevenage

Recent Lineup Updates

Coventry v Ipswich Team News

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

Coventry City (4-2-3-1) The goalkeeper; the right-back, Woolfenden, the defender, the left-back; the midfielder, Grimes; the winger, the attacking midfielder, Mason-Clark; the striker.

Subs: The backup keeper, Allen, the forward, the defender, the full-back, Latibeaudiere, Eccles, the youngster, the player.

Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; Furlong, O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa, Taylor; the attacker, Nunez, Jack Clarke; the centre-forward.

Substitutes: Palmer, Young, Johnson, the defender, the midfielder, Burns, McAteer, the attacker, the striker.

The official Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria).

Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Permutations

The situation is complex. That's often the case when some but not all third-place teams progress. Here’s how things look ahead of this evening's final round of matches.

• Morocco 4pts, +2 goal difference
• Mali 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 2)
• Zambia 2pts, GD0 (with 1 goal for)
• The Coelacanths 1 point, GD-2

In short, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat Zambia to top the group. Zambia probably need a draw or better versus the hosts. Comoros probably must to overcome their rivals, who will probably be okay with a draw.

Many possibilities, various outcomes, plenty of scenarios.

Egypt's Match with Angola Update

The denouement to the second group at this Africa Cup of Nations is being covered. For those wishing to remain unaware, it's best not to seek out that information.

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