In the EFL Championship, Preston North End and Hull City played to a goalless draw at Deepdale. The two teams were unable to be separated.
Despite being enjoyable to watch, the two teams that are directly competing for a play-off position cancelled each other out. North End managed to avoid defeat for the sixth time in a competitive match, but they haven’t triumphed at home since losing to Hull in February 2020.
Despite having a far stronger goal differential, Hull is still only three points ahead of them in the league standings after the draw, where they finished in sixth place. This week’s doubleheader of games does provide PNE the chance to move up into the top six, though, should the outcomes go their way.
In other division action, West Brom increased their lead over the pursuing group on Friday night by defeating Coventry City 2-1. The Baggies had chances through Mikey Johnston and Grady Diangana, but Haji Wright’s penalty in the 73rd minute proved insufficient, as PNE went on to surpass them the following day.
In the early kickoff on Sky Sports, automatic promotion-chasing Leeds United was defeated by Huddersfield Town, while Cardiff City triumphed over Bristol City in the Severnside Derby following a match postponed on the recommendation of the local police force.
After a thrilling seven-goal thriller at St Andrew’s, Southampton defeated Birmingham City 4-3 to win the game of the week. After defeating Sunderland 1-0, Norwich City advanced in their pursuit of a play-of position. Meanwhile, Steven Schumacher’s Stoke City victory over Middlesbrough allowed him to stay in the game despite rumors that he would be fired.
Zian Flemming’s deflected free kick helped Millwall defeat Watford 1-0 and heap further pressure on Valérien Ismaël as QPR shocked league leaders Leicester City with a 2-1 away victory. Plymouth Argyle was defeated 2-0 by Ipswich Town, Rotherham United was defeated 2-0 by Sheffield Wednesday, and Swansea City defeated Blackburn Rovers, PNE’s Lancashire rivals, 2-1.
WhoScored has collated the finest individual performances and created a Championship team of the week based on the highest player ratings, taking into account all of the outcomes and the individual performances on display. The lineup that was released is arranged in a 4-4-2 configuration, but this could change when the EFL releases the official squad later in the day.
1. GK: Preston North End’s Freddie Woodman
Rating from WhoScored: 7.90
2. RB: Cardiff City’s Perry Ng
Rating from WhoScored: 8.11
3. Hull City’s Jacob Greaves, CB
Rating from WhoScored: 8.79
4. Ben Gibson, a CB from Norwich City
Rating from WhoScored: 7.95
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