CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEKEND
CONOR HOURIHANE acclaimed team-mate Jack Grealish as the Championship’s top player after he led ASTON VILLA to a 4-0 victory against DERBY. Villa, who had won only two of their last 14 games in the absence of the injured Grealish, produced an exhilarating display as Derby fell to a fourth straight defeat. ‘Jack’s a fantastic player, the best in the league on his day,’ said two-goal Hourihane. ‘He’s got such quality. Him coming back today maybe gave the lads a bit of a lift and a buzz. With that quality, any team is going to improve.’ Derby fans are starting to feel nervous about their side’s play-off hopes and they are now three points off sixth place.
NORWICH re-established their two-point advantage at the summit by making light work of a tricky visit to MILLWALL, winning 3-1 thanks to goals from Marco Stiepermann, Christoph Zimmermann and Teemu Pukki. It was redemption for German midfielder Stiepermann, who last week was forced to clean manager Daniel Farke’s car — inside and out — to avoid a £50 fine following a spin of the ‘wheel of misfortune’ in
Norwich’s dressing room. Britt Assombalonga is
MIDDLESBROUGH’S top scorer but he somehow missed from a yard during their goalless draw at WIGAN.
BRISTOL CITY remained on course for the top six with a 1-1 draw at PRESTON, with Famara Diedhiou cancelling out Daniel Johnson’s first-half opener.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST assistant manager Roy Keane added another yellow card to his collection in their 2-0 loss at STOKE. Keane lost his cool with the assistant referee after Benik Afobe had scored Stoke’s second goal. ‘He was having fun,’ said Forest boss Martin O’Neill of his right-hand man.
HULL boosted their play-off hopes at BIRMINGHAM’S expense with a 2-0 win as Jarrod Bowen increased his season’s tally to 18. At the bottom, IPSWICH are now 12 points adrift and seemingly doomed after Mo Barrow hit a last-minute winner in a 2-1 win for READING. To make matters worse for Ipswich, Reading’s first goal was scored by on-loan Norwich striker Nelson Oliveira.