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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
1Leeds UnitedLeeds30189360194163
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd30196541212061
3Burnley30151323692758
4Sunderland291510442241855
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn30136113429545
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom301014639271244
7Middlesbrough29128947361144
8Norwich CityNorwich30119104942742
9Bristol City30101283835342
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds30119104346-342
11Coventry CityCoventry30118114138341
12Watford30125134042-241
13Millwall301010103027340
14Queens Park RangersQPR30911103339-638
15Preston North EndPreston3081393338-537
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd30910113444-1037
17Swansea CitySwansea3097143242-1034
18Stoke CityStoke30711122837-932
19Cardiff CityCardiff30710133351-1831
20Portsmouth3079143652-1630
21Hull City3078153140-929
22Derby CountyDerby3076173241-927
23Luton TownLuton3076173049-1927
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth30510152963-3425


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