Stoke City, Derby County and Aston Villa are all represented.
Derby County and Stoke experienced the most productive weekend across the Midlands. Stoke fans will be delighted with their team’s recent form, particularly after an impressive display against Swansea, whilst Steve McClaren’s Derby side climbed to 18th in the Championship after their second win in four games under the former England boss.
West Bromwich Albion suffered a heavy Premier League defeat at the hands of Manchester City, whilst in the Championship Burton Albion and Nottingham Forest were both on the end of 2-0 losses.
Leicester City battled admirably and secured a valuable point away at Tottenham Hotspur, manager-less Wolverhampton Wanderers drew with strugglers Blackburn Rovers and the Midlands derby between Birmingham City and Aston Villa also ended in a draw.
Derby County Manager Steve McClaren applauds their fans after the match
The top performing players from the region make our Midlands team of the weekend, which features three from both Stoke and Derby and contributors from Birmingham City, Aston Villa, Leicester City and a Wolves defender who finds himself back in favour at Molineux.
Midlands XI of the weekend
Derby’s 2-0 victory over an in-form Sheffield Wednesday was a significant feat for an improving Rams side under the returning Steve McClaren. Goalkeeper Scott Carson makes the team of the weekend due to his clean sheet and string of saves to deny Sheffield Wednesday’s Kieran Lee and Fernando Forestieri on multiple occasions.
In defence, Carson is joined by goalscoring team mates Alex Pearce and Cyrus Christie – who defended admirably to deny Wednesday’s attacking threats throughout the match. Christie in particular had a stand-out game, as the full back got forward effectively and was a constant support to winger Tom Ince. Christie took his headed goal well to put Derby 1-0 ahead.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ David Edwards celebrates scoring their first goal with Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
The back line is complete with the additions of Birmingham defender Ryan Shotton, who defended superbly against last week’s Midlands XI centre-forward, Aston Villa’s Joanthan Kodjia. Wolves’ Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has returned to their line-up since the departure of Walter Zenga, and was Wolves’ best player in their 1-1 draw with Blackburn.
Aston Villa’s Gary Gardner (L) and Birmingham City’s David Davies
David Davis and Gary Gardner may well have been in competition over the weekend, but they pair up in our Midlands central midfield spots. Davis, who began the game in an unorthodox left midfield role before being moved centrally, scored Birmingham’s equaliser to secure a share of the points after Gardner’s first half strike had given Villa the lead.
Stoke’s Joe Allen continues his place in the Midlands XI with yet another high rating this weekend following two assists against Swansea. Allen is joined by team mates Ramadan Sobhi and Wilfried Bony in an attacking quartet completed by Leicester’s Ahmed Musa, who joins the East Midlands players from Derby.
Stoke City’s Wilfried Bony celebrates scoring their third goal with Ramadan Sobhi
Sobhi came off the bench to replace the recently paraised Xherdan Shaqiri, and the Egyptian’s trickery was instrumental in Alfie Mawson’s own-goal that gave Stoke a 2-1 lead. Bony, the focal point of Stoke’s attack, scored a brace to end a barren run of goalscoring form that had lasted since December 2015. Ahmed Musa takes the final spot in the Midlands XI due to his strike against Tottenham Hotspur – the Nigerian has now scored in back-to-back Premier League games.
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