QPR and Millwall stars join four Coventry City players in Championship Team of the Week

QPR and Millwall defenders have been named as part of the Championship Team of the Week following wins for the London sides. The XI is heavily made up of Coventry City players after another impressive victory for Frank Lampard’s men.

The R’s have now made it six games unbeaten in the second tier following their 7-1 defeat to Coventry City. A 2-1 win away from home at Bristol City on Saturday the latest positive result.

Julien Stephan’s men came back from 1-0 down to turn the score around and haul themselves up to sixth in the Championship. Richard Kone and Paul Smyth found themselves on the scoresheet but it was another QPR man who was named in the Team of the Week.

QPR and Millwall stars feature in Team of the Week

The EFL works with WhoScored to pick an XI of the best performers each gameweek and Jimmy Dunne was included for his efforts against Bristol City. Not only did the 27-year-old help his team to a clean sheet but he assisted Paul Smyth for the late winner.

Dunne perfectly lofted the ball into the box, looping it over the Robins’ defence and onto the head of a leaping Smyth, who did brilliantly to send it into the back of the net. The full-back, who signed a new contract at Loftus Road in the summer, captained the side and picked up his second assist of the season.

He is joined by a Millwall full-back in the Team of the Week in Zak Sturge. The 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes against West Brom and scored the third of the Lions’ goals in the 72nd minute.

That was his first goal for the club, having initially joined on loan in February before making that a permanent transfer this summer. With his side 2-0 up against the Baggies, Sturge intercepted the ball in his own half before laying off to a teammate and sprinting up the pitch. The defender eventually latched onto the ball and smashed it past Josh Griffiths in the West Brom goal.

Alex Neil praises Zak Sturge for ‘great finish’

Speaking after the game, Alex Neil said: “I thought it was a great goal. Great finish. What we lacked the other night was penetrating runners, getting in behind. I didn’t think we were getting in behind Coventry enough. If you look at their two goals, it’s Billy [Mitchell] over the top, Femi [Azeez] in behind, cuts back with his left, puts in a corner.

“Zak Sturge in behind, gets through, goes through, and scores. Those were certainly elements we knew we needed to do better, and we did it excellently today.”

Unsurprisingly, following a 5-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, there are four Coventry City players included in the XI - they are Haji Wright, Matt Grimes, Bobby Thomas and Brandon Thomas-Asante.

It was midfielder Thomas-Asante who received the highest score over the weekend with a 9.7 rating. The EFL article explained: “Coventry’s No.23 set the tone at Hillsborough, striking inside three minutes and adding a second on 33’ to put the Sky Blues out of sight before the break. Thomas-Asante had a game high of six shots, three on target, and two successful dribbles. This is the first time Thomas-Asante has scored a 9+ rating since signing for Coventry and is his highest rating since scoring a hat-trick for Salford City against Scunthorpe in March 2022.”

In other news, What Alex Neil said about 'quality' Millwall player in West Brom victory.