Championship team of the week: Sharp treble fires Blades into first

After 15 games of the Championship season, a league renowned to be among the most competitive in football is certainly living up to that billing.

Just two of the top six picked up wins, with Sheffield United now top of the league by two clear points after a 4-2 victory over Wigan - an identical gap to that which separates the sides from second to sixth.

The man to fire the Blades to said three points was Billy Sharp, who became only the second Championship player to reach ten goals for the season with his first hat-trick in ten years. The experienced striker unsurprisingly earned the highest WhoScored.com rating (9.06) of the week having scored with all three of his efforts at goal.

He’s joined up front in the team of the week this time around by a player ten years his junior, with Oliver McBurnie ending an eight-game barren run for Swansea with a match-winning double against Reading. The youngster led the line superbly, hitting the target with four of five shots and creating three chances for a rating of 8.76.

Third in the rankings this week is Norwich summer signing Emiliano Buendia, who is beginning to make a real impact at Carrow Road and scored his first league goal for the club to secure a 1-0 win over Brentford. The result capped off a wonderful week for the Canaries, who are now flying high after three consecutive victories, and their 21-year-old Argentine is playing an increasingly pivotal role with and without the ball, creating three chances on top of his goal, whilst winning an outstanding six tackles.

A further six sides are represented in the Championship best XI this time around, with Jack Butland taking a spot in goal after a clean sheet at Bristol. Birmingham’s Kristian Pedersen continues to prove a valuable addition, with the left-back taking that spot in the lineup - and not for the first time this season. Meanwhile Jack Grealish earns a spot in midfield alongside Blackburn’s Harrison Reed despite Aston Villa’s 1-0 defeat at QPR on Friday night having created three chances, completed 95 per cent of his passes and hit the woodwork at Loftus Road.