MX23RW : Tuesday, May 7 02:23:17| >> :120:40450:40450:

Sports Mole's Championship Team of the Week

Sports Mole picks out the best XI from matchday 21 in the Championship as well as highlighting the biggest numpty and best goal.

The Championship's top four clubs are separated by just a point after matchday 21 over the weekend.

Bournemouth are the new league leaders and only ahead of Middlesbrough because they have scored 44 goals, more than anyone else in the Football League.

The Cherries beat Cardiff City 5-3 at home while Boro downed the previous league leaders Derby County.

Ipswich Town, like Derby, dropped a couple of places from second to fourth as they managed a goalless draw at Bolton Wanderers.

Brentford are a point further back after their sixth win in seven games - a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers - while bottom-club Blackpool continued their improved form with a 2-2 draw at Charlton Athletic.

Here, Sports Mole chooses its best XI from the weekend, in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, as well as highlighting the biggest numpty and best goal.

Andy Lonergan (Bolton Wanderers)
The Trotters lost their 100% home record under Neil Lennon, but they were fortunate to escape with a point against Ipswich. Lonergan made several saves, including two top-draw stops to keep out Jay Tabb.

Richard Stearman (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Wolves ended a run of five straight defeats with a 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday and Stearman made more blocks than anyone else in the Championship this weekend.
Craig Morgan (Rotherham United)
Another goalless draw for the Millers as they held Nottingham Forest at the New York Stadium. They've failed to score in six of the last seven games, but Morgan was a rock at the back with numerous clearances.
Dan Shittu (Millwall)
A towering presence at the back on Friday night as Millwall kept a clean sheet and picked up just their second win in 16 games with victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Konstantinos Stafylidis (Fulham)
The young left-back made multiple interceptions at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon as Fulham edged out Leeds United.

Ikechi Anya (Watford)
Set up both of Troy Deeney's goals as the Hornets piled more misery on lowly Wigan Athletic.
Harry Arter (Bournemouth)
A goal and assist for the Cherries midfielder, who keeps his place in our best XI.
Bradley Johnson (Norwich City)
Netted two of Norwich's five as they dismantled Huddersfield Town in front of a bumper crowd at Carrow Road and closed in on the playoffs.
Demarai Gray (Birmingham City)
The star performer of the weekend with a 34-minute hat-trick in the first half as Birmingham blew away Reading 6-1. Three quality finishes from the 18-year-old even though Reading were catastrophic at the back.

Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough)
The Chelsea loanee has now scored in three straight games after putting Boro ahead in their top-of-the-table clash against Derby. He also won the penalty that sealed the win.
Steven Davies (Blackpool)
Rock-bottom Blackpool are now four games unbeaten and Davies, like Bamford, found the net for the third game in a row to earn the Tangerines a point at Charlton Athletic.

Numpty of the Week

The Reading defence: Reading lost 6-1 at St Andrew's, but you wouldn't believe that looking at the stats - the Royals had 65% possession and 16 shots to Birmingham's 11. It was their defence that let them down and although Birmingham took their chances well, most of the goals were very avoidable.

Goal of the Week

Yann Kermorgant (Bournemouth) vs. Cardiff City: There were tons of goals this weekend and eight of them came at the Goldsands Stadium, with Kermorgant's pinpoint free kick the pick of the bunch.

ID:193895: cacheID:193895:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7328:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Adam Clayton of Middlesbrough celebrates after Jelle Vossen scores to make it 4-0 during the Sky Bet Championship match between Millwall and Middlesbrough at The Den on December 6, 2014
Read Next:
Championship Team of the Week
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CPortsmouth462813578413797
3Bolton WanderersBolton462512986513587
4Peterborough UnitedPeterborough462591289612884
5Oxford UnitedOxford Utd4622111379562377
6Barnsley4621131282641876
7Lincoln CityLincoln4620141265402574
8Blackpool4621101565481773
9Stevenage4619141357461171
10Wycombe WanderersWycombe461714156055565
11Leyton Orient461811175355-265
12Wigan AthleticWigan462010166356762
13Exeter CityExeter461710194661-1561
14Northampton TownNorthampton46179205766-960
15Bristol Rovers46169215268-1657
16Charlton AthleticCharlton461120156465-153
17Reading461611196870-253
18Cambridge UnitedCambridge461212223961-2248
19Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury46139243567-3248
20Burton Albion461210243967-2846
RCheltenham TownCheltenham46128264165-2444
RFleetwood TownFleetwood461013234972-2343
RPort Vale461011254174-3341
RCarlisle UnitedCarlisle4679304181-4030


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!