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Peep peep! The 7.45pm games in the EFL are under way.
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Leicester v Derby
“Some context for tonight’s game,” writes Pete Flood. “By denying staff their usual pre-Christmas wages, Leicester City are cosplaying as old Ebenezer this Christmas. It’s just absurdly bad PR. I think a loss against our local rivals tonight will mean Marti Cifuentes gets the sack and there will be more questions about how low this club can sink.
“More merrily, around this time last year your colleague Scott announced my son’s birth to the Guardian faithful. We’d just beaten West Ham and I almost called him Jamie. Joey is now a happy one year old with no conception of this cursed game!”
Happy birthday to Joey!
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GOAL! Coventry 0-2 Ipswich (Burns 83)
Wes Burns, who has just returned after almost a year out with injury, doubles Ipswich’s lead! It came on the break, with Clarke and Azon heavily involved. Azon teed up Burns, who passed the ball into the far corner. What a fine counter-attacking goal.
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Updated at 19.44 GMT
80 min: Coventry 0-1 Ipswich Coventry haven’t lost at home since the first leg of last season’s playoff semi-fnal against Sunderland. I doubt a defeat will derail their season – but it would give Ipswich even more momentum as they cahse an automatic promotion place.
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74 min: Coventry 0-1 Ipswich That goal came from a superb bit of defending by Cedric Kipre, who nipped in front of Hadji Wright to win the ball in the centre circle. One pass and one shot later, Ipswich were ahead.
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GOAL! Coventry 0-1 Ipswich (Clarke 72)
The goal that Ipswich have threatened all night has finally come. Jack Clarke’s low shot from the left side of the area took a wicked deflection off his old Ipswich teammate Luke Woolfenden and looped slowly over Rushworth.
Jack Clarke opens the scoring, courtesy of a deflection. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/ShutterstockClarke celebrates. Photograph: Michael Zemanek/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 19.44 GMT
GOAL! Zambia 0-2 Morocco (Diaz 27)
Brahim Diaz doubles Morocco’s lead; they are going to top Group A.
Morocco’s Brahim Diaz (third right) wheels away in celebration after scoring his team’s second goal. Photograph: ReutersShare
Updated at 19.36 GMT
68 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich As goalless games go, this is a cracker. Coventry keeper Carl Rushworth has just made another fine save, diving low to his left to touch Ivan Azon’s shot round the post.
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The latest scores in our featured games (the ones that have kicked off)
Afcon 2025
Comoros 0-0 Mali (7pm)
Zambia 0-1 Morocco (7pm)
Championship
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61 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Lots of pressure on the Ipswich goal now, both in open play and from set-pieces. A penalty appeal is turned down after a clumsy challenge by Furling on Wright just inside the area. Wright was going nowhere but a penalty could easily have been given for that.
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Millwall v Bristol City team news
Millwall Crocombe, Crama, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, Doughty, Mitchell, Bangura-Williams, Neghli, Emakhu, Ivanovic.
Subs: Benda, McNamara, Ballo, Langstaff, Leonard, Bryan, Matthews, Harding, Howland.
Bristol City O’Leary, Vyner, Dickie, Pring, Atkinson, Randell, Knight, McCrorie, Twine, Mehmeti, Armstrong.
Subs: Lumley, Tanner, Roberts, Borges, Hirakawa, Stokes, Pecover, Jakobsen, Yeboah.
Referee David Webb (County Durham)
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54 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Coventry have made a better start to the second half. Hadji Wright’s shot has just been well saved by Ipswich keeper Christian Walton. The save itself was fairly straightforward but he did well to shovel an awkward ball away from the lurking attackers.
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GOAL! Zambia 0-1 Morocco (El Kaabi 9)
An early goal for the hosts, who look almost certain to top Group A.
Ayoub El Kaabi headed Morocco in front from close range after a well-worked short corner.
Morocco’s Ayoub El Kaabi celebrates after opening the scoring against Zambia. Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 19.28 GMT
Leicester v Derby team news
Leicester Stolarczyk, Choudhury, Okoli, Nelson, Luke Thomas, Skipp, James, Fatawu, De Cordova-Reid, Mavididi, Ayew.
Subs: Begovic, Faes, Aluko, Ricardo Pereira, Page, Silko Thomas, Ramsey, Carranza, Monga.
Derby Zetterstrom, Langas, Sanderson, Clarke, Adams, Thompson,
Clark, Elder, Brereton Diaz, Agyemang, Brewster.
Subs: O’Donnell, Forsyth, Batth, Blackett-Taylor, Weimann, Salvesen, Jackson, Travis, Nelson.
Referee Gavin Ward (Surrey)
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Cardiff v Stevenage team news
Cardiff Trott, Ng, Fish, Chambers, Bagan, Turnbull, Wintle, Robinson, Isaak Davies, Willock, Salech.
Subs: Turner, Kpakio, Lawlor, Joel Colwill, Robertson, Kellyman, Tanner.
Stevenage Marschall, James Wildin, Goode, Piergianni, Freestone, Houghton, White, Lubala, Kemp, Patterson, Reid.
Subs: Ashby-Hammond, Earley, Pattenden, Campbell, Young, Thompson, Malcolm.
Referee Charles Breakspear (Surrey)
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Updated at 19.08 GMT
Wrexham v Preston team news
Wrexham Okonkwo, Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle, Longman, Matty James, Sheaf, Thomason, Broadhead, Windass, Kieffer Moore.
Subs: Burton, Coady, Scarr, Cacace, Barnett, Dobson, Rathbone, Rodriguez, Smith.
Preston North End Iversen, Offiah, Storey, Lindsay, Potts,Armstrong, Whiteman, Devine, Small, Frokjaer-Jensen, Jebbison.
Subs: Walton, Valentin, Lewis, Thompson, McCann, Noah Mawene, Keane, Smith.
Referee Ruebyn Ricardo (Leicestershire)
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“Oh, hello Bob, didn’t see you there!” says Mac Millings. “Well there I was (am), out dining at the waterfront in Marsaxlokk, Malta, with Mrs. Millings, when I noticed that you weren’t focussing on Norwich v Watford — a Watford (I don’t need to tell you) who have lost just one of their last 10.
“So let me summarize the game for you. Josh F. Sargent scores early, but the Hornets claw (yes, Hornets claw, look it up) their way to a 2-1 victory, propelling them to somewhere approximating a play-off place.
“Oh, and let your readership know if promising young Golden Boys striker, Mamadou Doumbia, has a run-out for Mali, too. Good lad!”
If you want more of this peculiar nonsense – and who doesn’t – Millings is a regular on the Nessun Dorma podcast. He is particularly good/bad on the retro sport drafts.
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Half time: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich
Intriguing stuff at the CBSA. Ipswich have been hugely impressive, dominating the Championship leaders on their patch, and would be ahead but for a save-of-the-season contender from Carl Rushworth to deny Jack Taylor.
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Middlesbrough v Hull team news
Middlesbrough Brynn, Brittain, Gilbert, Ayling, Targett, Browne, Hackney, Whittaker, Bangura, Kaly Sene, Conway.
Subs: McLaughlin, Burgzorg, Hamilton, Morris, Nypan, Silvera, Hansen, McCormick, Kante.
Hull Pandur, Coyle, Egan, Hughes, Giles, Gyabi, Slater, Crooks, Famewo, Ndala, Joseph.
Subs: Phillips, Millar, McBurnie, Akintola, Hadziahmetovic, Destan, Ashbee, Palmer, McCarthy.
Referee Leigh Doughty (Lancashire)
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40 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Carl Rushworth keeps Coventry level with an outrageously good save, flying to his right to push Jack Taylor’s shot onto the crossbar.
Rushworth had to change direction, saw the ball late, had very little reaction time and had to dive full length to get to the ball. One of the saves of the season, that.
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Updated at 18.44 GMT
39 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Another opportunity for Ipswich. Darnell Furlong stands up an excellent cross ot the far post, where Jacob Greaves gets in front of Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and plants a stooping header straight at the keeper.
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33 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich It’s a more even contest now, a compelling but largely uneventful arm-wrestle. Coventry did well to restrict Ipswich to only one good chance at a time when Ipswich were well on top.
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22 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Early days but Ipswich hve been very impressive in the first quarter of the game. Jack Clarke has just walloped fractionally wide from 15 yards after a cross broke perfectly for him. That’s the best chance of the game.
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Updated at 18.24 GMT
Zambia v Morocco team news
Zambia (poss 4-2-3-1) Mwanza; M Banda, B Sakala, Chanda, L Musonda; Chongo, Chaiwa; Hamansenya, Kangwa, Liteta; Daka.
Subs: O Chisala, F Musonda, Lahne, L Banda, Sabobo, W Chisala, Sunzu, Kalusa, Mulenga, Mwansa, K Musonda, Phiri, Mphande, Tembo, Mandanji.
Morocco (poss 4-2-3-1) Bounou; Mazraoui, Aguerd, Masina, Chibi; El Aynaoui, Ounahi; Diaz, Saibari, Ezzalzouli; El Kaabi.
Subs: Hakimi, Amrabat, Rahimi, Mohamedi, Ben Seghir, Targhaline, Akhomach, El Yamiq, En Nesyri, Talbi, Al Harrar, El Khannous, Saleh-Eddine, Ait Boudlal, Belammari.
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Updated at 18.18 GMT
13 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich So far Ipswich have been the better team: 74 per cent possession and three attempts at goal to Coventry’s none.
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Comoros v Mali team news
Comoros (poss 4-2-3-1) Pandor; Toubibou, Soilihi, Kari, Abdallah; Bourhane, Z Youssouf; B Youssouf, Maolida, Selemani; Said.
Subs: B Boina, Boura, I Mohamed, Ali, M’Changama, M’Dahoma, Ahmed, Vita, Amir, B Nabouhane, Bakari, Anzimati-Aboudou, I Mohamed, Mroivili, Lutin.
Mali (poss 4-2-3-1) D Diarra, Doucoure, Diaby, O Camara, Gassama; Sangare, Bissouma; Sinayoko, Mohamed Camara, Dorgeles; K Doumbia.
Subs: Diawara, Traore, Dante, Haidara, Niakate, M Doumbia, Toure, L Coulibaly, Mamadou Camara, Fofana, M Doumbia, G Diarra, Samassa, Sissoko, Diakite.
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Updated at 18.15 GMT
8 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich Plenty of endeavour but not early chances at the CBSA.
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1 min: Coventry 0-0 Ipswich The big game at the evocatively named Coventry Building Society Arena is under way.
Dodgy name or not, there’s a cracking atmosphere, with a whiff of rewenge in the air: Ipswich plugged Coventry 3-0 in the return game three weeks ago.
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Updated at 18.05 GMT
Afcon 2025 results
Group B is done and dusted. Egypt’s goalless draw with Angola means they finish top with seven points. South Africa beat Zimbabwe 3-2 and are also guaranteed a last 16 place. Angola (2 points, GD-1) will have to wait to find out whether they qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.
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Afcon 2025: Group A permutations
Look, it’s complicated. It always is when some but not all third-placed teams qualify. Here’s how things look ahead of tonight’s final round of games.
Morocco 4pts, GD+2
Mali 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 2)
Zambia 2pts, GD0 (goals scored 1)
Comoros 1pt, GD-2
In short, Morocco are probably fine but will want to beat Zambia and top the group. Zambia probably need at least a point against Morocco. Comoros probably need to beat Mali, who will probably be okay if they get a point.
Lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-yous.
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Angola v Egypt latest
Will Unwin is covering the denouement to Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations. If you don’t want to know the score, don’t click the link.
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Coventry v Ipswich team news
The early game, between the teams who are first and third in the Championship, could be a cracker. Here are the two XIs.
Coventry (4-2-3-1) Rushworth; van Ewijk, Woolfenden, Kitching, Brau; Torp, Grimes; Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Wright.
Subs: Wilson, Allen, Simms, Kesler-Hayden, Bidwell, Latibeaudiere, Eccles, Perry, Andrews.
Ipswich (4-2-3-1) Walton; Furlong, O’Shea, Kipre, Greaves; Matusiwa, Taylor; Walle, Nunez, Jack Clarke; Azon.
Subs: Palmer, Young, Johnson, Humphreys, Cajuste, Burns, McAteer, Philogene-Bidace, Akpom.
Referee Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria)
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Updated at 17.37 GMT
Preamble
Oh, hi folks. Welcome to the [checks writing desk rota] penultimate football clockwatch of 2025. There’s a full EFL programme, starting with Coventry v Ipswich at 6pm, and we’ll also be keeping at least a third of an eye on the two evening games from Group A at the Africa Cup of Nations: Zambia against the hosts Morocco and Comoros v Mali.
You can see a full list of games on our live scores page. (I would type them all out but I’m trying to save my fingers for more essential tasks ahead.) We’ll be focussing on these games, all 7.45pm kick-offs unless stated.
Afcon 2025
Comoros v Mali (7pm)
Zambia v Morocco (7pm)
Championship
Coventry v Ipswich (6pm)
Leicester v Derby
Middlesbrough v Hull
Millwall v Bristol City
Wrexham v Preston
League One
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Updated at 17.37 GMT
