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Sports Mole's Championship Team of the Week

Sports Mole chooses its best Championship XI following the conclusion of the sixth round of fixtures this weekend.

The Championship resumed this weekend following a two-week international break, but the story remains the same at the top with Brighton & Hove Albion still the team to beat.

Cardiff City have emerged as the Seagulls' closest challengers after six games, making it three wins on the bounce as they continue to efficiently go about their business under Russell Slade.

As well as Brighton and Cardiff, Birmingham City and Leeds United also boast unbeaten records, though in the case of the latter it is now five draws in six outings.

At the bottom end of the division, Rotherham United picked up a much-needed point at Charlton Athletic but still remain at the foot of the table, sitting two points adrift of Bristol City who just about remain afloat.

Following the latest round of action, Sports Mole chooses its best XI, as well as highlighting the biggest numpty and best goal.


Lee Camp (Rotherham United)
A busy debut for the former Bournemouth stopper, who had to be on the top of his game to help Rotherham leave South London with a share of the spoils. Charlton had a whopping 21 shots during the afternoon, including eight on target, but could not find enough of the cutting edge required.

Patrick Bauer (Charlton Athletic)
Tapped home to rescue Charlton a point in a game that they felt they really should have got more out of. Rotherham had to soak up a lot of pressure but they so nearly found themselves two goals up at The Valley.
Matthew Connolly (Cardiff City)
A contender for unbeaten Cardiff's Player of the Season to date, promotion-winning expert Connolly has formed a solid partnership with Sean Morrison at the back which is keeping star man Bruno Ecuele Manga out of the team.
Michael Dawson (Hull City)
He may have been on the losing side, but the experienced defender helped keep the deficit down to just the single goal. Late block to deny Beram Kayal in particular stood out, while he also kept his backline in check.
Gaetan Bong (Brighton & Hove Albion)
A particularly impressive display from the full-back, offering opponents Hull little room for movement down the left and also getting forward to offer attacking support.

Sammy Ameobi (Cardiff City)
Cardiff boss Slade is arguably the most understated gaffer in the Championship, yet he deserves credit for merging this disjointed Bluebirds side into potential playoff contenders. Booed for withdrawing Kenwyne Jones in place of Ameobi, the loanee proved that he will be a shrewd capture over the course of the campaign by setting up the first and providing an injection of added quality.
Liam Feeney (Bolton Wanderers)
Some weight off the shoulders of Feeney this weekend, after finding the net against Wolves for his first goal since January 17 - a run of 27 games without previously finding a way through.
Nick Blackman (Reading)
Tasked with running the channels against Ipswich, Blackman proved to be a real threat during his time on the field. Played a key part for the Royals, and even bagged himself a deserved goal to take just some of the post-match credit.

Orlando Sa (Reading)
A first hat-trick in English football for Sa, who now has four in his last two outings. All the pre-match talk centred around Matej Vydra, for obvious reasons, yet it was the former Fulham flop who stole the show.
Clayton Donaldson (Birmingham City)
Sa was not the only player to bag a treble this weekend, as Donaldson did likewise in Birmingham's big win over Bristol City. It took just 41 minutes for the ex-Brentford man to achieve the feat - his second hat-trick for Birmingham and fourth in league football overall.
Chris Martin (Derby County)
At long last Derby are off the mark in terms of wins for the season, putting their barren August to one side to slowly climb up the table. Martin proved vital in the maiden win, finding the net twice - the first of which was a real cracker to put his side on their way.


Numpty of the Week

Robert Green (Queens Park Rangers): Not many goalkeepers can boast having more experience than Green, but even he can sometimes fall victim to a lapse of concentration. After failing to control a back-pass, the ex-England international hauled down Chris O'Grady inside the box to earn a red card. Forest used that to turn the game in their favour, eventually prevailing 2-1 at Loftus Road.

Goal of the Week

Oliver Norwood (Reading) vs. Ipswich Town

A few strong contenders for the award this week, but Norwood's 35-yard drive against the Tractor Boys just about edges out the others. The ball was struck so well that Dean Gerken did not even bother moving from his spot.


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Uwe Rosler manager of Leeds United reacts during the Sky Bet Championship match between Leeds United and Burnley at Elland Road on August 8, 2015
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


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