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Sports Mole's Championship team of the week

Sports Mole picks out this weekend's strongest XI from the second tier.

Cardiff ousted Leicester thanks to Craig Bellamy to regain their three-point lead at the top of the Championship this afternoon.

At the other end of the table, all three clubs in the drop zone picked up maximum points, with Sheffield Wednesday edging Charlton, Barnsley overcoming Millwall and Peterborough beating Bolton 5-4 at London Road.

Here, Sports Mole picks out its top XI from Friday and Saturday in the second tier.

Carl Ikeme (Wolves)
The Wolves keeper was in magnificent form to keep out Blackpool on Friday night. There was one 90-second spell where he made three top-drawer saves to prevent the Tangerines netting a leveller.

Mark Little (Peterborough)
The Posh right-back was on the scoresheet as lowly Peterborough came out on top in a nine-goal thriller at London Road against Bolton.
Mark Hudson (Cardiff)
Hudson is a rock at the back for Cardiff and his back four kept their eighth clean sheet of the season in a tight win at Leicester.
Tommy Smith (Ipswich)
Mick McCarthy's men were not at their best in the draw against fellow strugglers Bristol City but Smith's overhead finish for the Blues' equaliser was a highlight.
Miguel Llera (Wednesday)
A rare clean sheet for the Owls and Spanish defender Llera also contributed an assist as Charlton were seen off at Hillsborough.

Wilfried Zaha (Palace)
The much-talked about Palace winger scored the hosts' goal with a blistering strike as they managed a draw despite going down to 10 men early on.
Robert Koren (Hull)
The Tigers are challenging Cardiff at the top and Koren's goals from midfield are one of the reasons why. The Slovenian netted his sixth in the league this term as Hull saw off Derby last night.
Stephen Dawson (Barnsley)
The Tykes picked up a surprise win at Millwall and Dawson contributed a goal as Keith Hill's side moved closer to escaping the drop zone.
Jeremy Helan (Wednesday)
Wednesday made it three wins out of three for the division's bottom three and Manchester City loanee Helan scored his first goal for the Owls to seal the points.

Luciano Becchio (Leeds)
After scoring against Chelsea in midweek, the Argentinian frontman netted both goals as Leeds saw off lofty Middlesbrough to move within a couple of points of the playoffs.
Matej Vydra (Watford)
The Czech striker moved into double figures for the season by scoring both goals as Watford saw off 10-man Forest to move into the playoff places.

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Pascal Lemesre
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Barnsley's Tomasz Cywka and Sheffield Wednesday's Chris Lines battle for the ball on December 15, 2012
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd21145230111945
2Leeds UnitedLeeds21126337152242
3Sunderland21117332171540
4Burnley2010822471738
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2011452517837
6Middlesbrough21104735251034
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2071122314932
8Watford199462725231
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds218582630-429
10Swansea CitySwansea217682322127
11Bristol City216962626027
12Norwich CityNorwich206863530526
13Millwall206772018225
14Derby CountyDerby216692626024
15Coventry CityCoventry216692730-324
16Preston North EndPreston2141162127-623
17Stoke CityStoke215792328-522
18Queens Park RangersQPR2141072127-622
19Luton TownLuton2164112337-1422
20Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2046102133-1218
21Cardiff CityCardiff2046101932-1318
22Portsmouth193882134-1317
23Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2045111942-2317
24Hull City2137111930-1116


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