Championship round-up: Preston dominate best XI after Brentford win

After a 10-match winless run to leave them mired in the relegation zone, an entertaining 4-3 win over Brentford in midweek means Preston have won two of their last three league outings. Victory moved Alex Neil’s side out of the drop zone and up into 19th and inflicted further misery upon a Bees side that started well, but has now failed to win in seven. 

23-year-old Callum Robinson was the man of the hour for Preston in midweek as the youngster netted two of the home side’s four goals in the victory. His two goals came from five shots, while two key passes, two tackles and two interceptions contributed to a WhoScored rating of 9.01. It was a fine showing from Robinson, who did enough to land the WhoScored man of the match award and is the best rated player from the midweek matches. 

Wednesday was an evening of mixed fortunes for Nottingham Forest striker Lewis Grabban. The forward had a direct hand in all three goals in their 3-0 win over Bolton, scoring two and assisting one, but it could have been so much more for the 30-year-old, who saw a second half penalty saved by Ben Alnwick. In the process, Grabban became the first player to score and miss a penalty in the same league match in the top four tiers of English football twice in the same season this decade having achieved the feat in the 2-2 draw with Blackburn. 

Nevertheless, all three points is what mattered to Forest, with Grabban’s two goals coming from four shots and assist coming from four key passes as he returned a WhoScored rating of 8.91, that enough to secure the man of the match award at the University of Bolton Stadium. 

Rounding off the top three top performing players from the midweek action is Leeds centre-back Liam Cooper. Without usual centre-back partner Pontus Jansson alongside him, Cooper impressed nonetheless as he confirmed the three points for Leeds with a second half finish. His goal came from one shot as additional returns of nine aerial duels won, six clearances, four interceptions and one tackle capped off a fine display for the defender, who secured a WhoScored rating of 8.84 in Leeds’ 2-0 win over Ipswich. 

At the opposite end of the scales, Tuesday night was an evening to forget for Blackburn Rovers shotstopper David Raya Martin. Rovers had one of the better away records in the league coming into their visit to Swansea, but faltered at the Liberty Stadium, with the Swans recording a 3-1 win. Raya Martin scored an own goal midway through the second half that allowed Swansea back into the match before conceding twice more before the 90 minutes were up. The 23-year-old failed to make a save in the defeat as his horror show of a performance saw him land a WhoScored rating of just 4.94.