Coventry versus The Tractor Boys, The Foxes against Derby, and More EFL League Updates
Greetings to the full night of Football League as well as international soccer action. We'll be covering major second-tier matches and the crucial final group games in the Afcon tournament.
Preamble
Greetings to all. You are welcome to what is arguably the penultimate soccer live blog of the year. There’s a full Football League schedule, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, and we’ll also be keeping a close watch on the two evening games from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco as well as Comoros v Mali.
We'll be focussing on the following fixtures, all 19:45 kick-offs except where noted.
Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures
- The Coelacanths v The Eagles (19:00)
- Zambia v Morocco (7pm)
Second Division Matches
- The Sky Blues versus The Tractor Boys (6pm)
- Leicester versus The Rams
- Boro v The Tigers
- The Lions versus Bristol City
- The Red Dragons v North End
League One
- Cardiff versus Boro
Recent Team News
Ipswich at Coventry Team News
The evening's opener, between the teams who are top and third in the second tier, looks like an exciting match. These are the starting elevens.
Coventry City (a 4-2-3-1 formation) Rushworth; the right-back, Woolfenden, Kitching, Brau; the midfielder, the captain; Sakamoto, the attacking midfielder, Mason-Clark; the striker.
Subs: The backup keeper, Allen, the forward, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, the defender, the midfielder, the youngster, Andrews.
Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) The shot-stopper; Furlong, O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa, the midfielder; Walle, Nunez, the winger; Azon.
Substitutes: The goalkeeper, the defender, Johnson, Humphreys, the midfielder, Burns, the forward, the attacker, Akpom.
Referee Anthony Backhouse (from Cumbria).
Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios
It's a tricky picture. It always is where only some third-placed teams qualify. Here’s how things look ahead of tonight’s last set of matches.
- Morocco 4 points, +2 goal difference
- Mali 2pts, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
- Zambia 2pts, GD0 (with 1 goal for)
- Comoros 1pt, GD-2
To summarize, Morocco are probably fine though they will aim to defeat their opponents and win their pool. Zambia probably need at least a point versus Morocco. The island nation probably must to beat Mali, who will probably be okay with a draw.
A host of potential results and permutations.
Angola v Egypt Update
The denouement of the second group at this continental championship is being covered. To avoid spoilers, avoid following that coverage.
Second Tier 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 |
