Villa, Derby, West Brom and Leeds all feature in best rated Championship play-off XI

With the upcoming Championship semi-finals in mind, we take a look at the highest rated XI of those teams taking part, and it makes for an impressive lineup.

As one might expect, Leeds are represented more than their competitors having finished third, while Derby, who only secured a top-six spot on the final day of the campaign have just one player in the side.

That man is Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson, who takes the spot on the left in our formation after another impressive spell in the Championship. The versatile 22-year-old has scored an excellent 15 league goals for the Rams, the last of which came in the must win game against West Brom at the weekend, seven of which have come from outside the box.

The Leeds faces to make the cut primarily occupy places in the back four, including centre-back pairing Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper. Both chipped in with three goals to help the cause, with Jansson averaging 2.6 tackles and Cooper 5.3 aerial duels won per 90.

Elsewhere Ezgjan Alioski makes the cut at left-back and his absence through injury is a major blow for the Whites as they prepare to face Derby, while star man Pablo Hernandez unsurprisingly earns a spot. The Spaniard ended the regular campaign as one of only four players to reach double figures for goals (12) and assists (12), while creating 19 more chances than any other player (116).

As far as local rivals Aston Villa and West Brom are concerned, both have three representatives in the side ahead of their double header. The latter boast the best goalkeeper on show in former Villa Sam Johnstone, who made the most saves in the division (147), while loanee Mason Holgate is the only player outside of Leeds in the back four.

Dwight Gayle claims a berth up front having yet again proven prolific at Championship level, scoring 23 goals, while his strike partner - Tammy Abraham - did the same at Aston Villa.

The Chelsea loanee bagged 25 goals in 37 league starts and his return from a recent shoulder injury couldn’t have been more timely ahead of the weekend. Completing the side are a Villa midfield pairing that have been equally important to the club’s late playoff push, with John McGinn and Jack Grealish both enjoying superb seasons.

The former has proven to be an outstanding acquisition from Hibs, with his indefatigable performances instantly winning the hearts of the fans, with six goals and nine assists also playing their part in that. Grealish, meanwhile, is the highest rated player in the XI having had a monumental impact on the team’s results.

Villa won 17 of the 31 matches the playmaker started compared to just three of the 15 he missed. The newly appointed club captain also chipped in with six goals and six assists, ranking among the best in the league in key passes, pass accuracy and dribbles and winning more free-kicks than any player by a country mile.