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Welcome to a packed night of Football League and continental soccer fixtures. We'll be covering key Championship clashes plus those pivotal final group matches in this Africa Cup of Nations competition.

Opening Notes

Hello everyone. Welcome to what is arguably the second-to-last football clockwatch of the year. There’s an extensive Football League slate, starting with Ipswich's trip to Coventry at 18:00, and we will also monitor at least a third of an eye on the two night games from Group A at this Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Mali facing Comoros.

Our primary attention will be on these matches, with 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.

Africa Cup of Nations Fixtures

• Comoros v Mali (19:00)
• The Copper Bullets versus The Atlas Lions (7pm)

Second Division Matches

• The Sky Blues versus Ipswich (18:00)
• Leicester v Derby
• Middlesbrough versus Hull
• Millwall versus The Robins
• Wrexham versus Preston

League One

• Cardiff v Boro

Latest Lineup Updates

Coventry v Ipswich Team News

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

Coventry City (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; the right-back, the centre-back, the defender, the left-back; Torp, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright.

Subs: The backup keeper, the midfielder, the forward, Kesler-Hayden, the full-back, Latibeaudiere, the midfielder, Perry, Andrews.

Ipswich (a 4-2-3-1 setup) Walton; the defender, the centre-half, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa, Taylor; the attacker, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.

Substitutes: The goalkeeper, the defender, the midfielder, the defender, Cajuste, the winger, McAteer, Philogene-Bidace, the striker.

The official Backhouse (from Cumbria).

Africa Cup of Nations: First Group Scenarios

Look, it’s complicated. That's often the case when some but not all third-place teams qualify. Here’s how things look before tonight’s last round of games.

• Morocco 4 points, GD+2
• Mali 2 points, GD0 (with 2 goals for)
• The Copper Bullets 2 points, 0 goal difference (with 1 goal for)
• The Coelacanths 1 point, -2 goal difference

In short, Morocco is likely safe but will want to beat their opponents to win the group. Zambia probably need at least a point against Morocco. The island nation likely need to overcome Mali, who should advance if they get a point.

Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.

Angola v Egypt Update

The final act of the second group at this Africa Cup of Nations is being covered. If you don’t want to know the score, avoid following that coverage.

Second Tier Standings 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