Wolves bare their teeth as they march on at the top

WOLVES seized a commanding 11-point lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a clinical 3-0 win against 10-man Sheffield United at Molineux.

The hosts set up their 21st victory of the season by taking the lead in the fifth minute through Ruben Neves, with Diogo Jota’s 13th goal this term doubling their advantage on the half hour.

Ivan Cavaleiro’s 76th-minute freekick rubber-stamped the points after United goalkeeper Simon Moore had been sent off for his challenge on Jota just outside the area.

Tom Huddlestone inspired Derby to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Brentford which kept them in the automatic promotion places.

Huddlestone scored his first goal in 125 appearances and set up the second to help move County, albeit temporarily, to within eight points of Wolves.

Brentford midfielder Sergi Canos was sent off midway through the first half and Huddlestone, capped four times by England, made them pay moments later.

The former Hull midfielder then had a hand in creating Derby’s second goal, which was finished by Cameron Jerome in the 34th minute, while Matej Vydra added a late third with a penalty.

Aston Villa remain third, a point behind Derby, after beating struggling Burton 3-2 to claim their sixth straight Championship victory.

Villa took the lead after 33 minutes when a fine team goal was finished by Scott Hogan and Albert Adomah made it 2-0 in the 65th minute.

Ahmed Elmohamady’s own goal gifted the Brewers a route back into the game, but Jack Grealish restored Villa’s two-goal cushion late on.

There was still time for Liam Boyce to score for Burton but Nigel Clough’s side are rooted to the bottom of the table.

Fulham moved up to fifth after Lucas Piazon and Stefan Johansen scored second-half goals in a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

Sunderland remain second bottom and are two points adrift of safety after a 2-0 home defeat against Ipswich.

Hull also failed to climb out of the drop zone after letting a lead slip in their 2-1 loss at Preston.

Birmingham edged four points clear of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory at nine-man Sheffield Wednesday.

Josh Scowen scored his first goal for QPR to help secure a 1-0 victory against his former club Barnsley.

Norwich beat Middlesbrough, who had Rudy Gestede sent off in the first half, 1-0 courtesy of Tom Trybull’s goal, while Leandro Bacuna’s own goal and a Lee Gregory strike helped Millwall win 2-0 at Reading.