Championship round-up: Wolves stay top with win over Preston, Leeds end losing run
talkSPORT bring you the highlights of another eventful afternoon in the English second tier…
Wolves 3-2 Preston North End:
Wolverhampton Wanderers remain top of the Championship table after holding on to beat Preston at the Molineux, with North End finishing the game with ten men.
Portuguese forward Ivan Cavaleiro fired the hosts in front on the stroke of half-time, with Leo Bonatini netting from the spot on 59 minutes to make it 2-0.
Bonatini scored again just four minutes later to give Wolves a 3-0 lead, but Preston hit back immediately through Jordan Hugill’s header.
An own goal from Conor Coady then gave the Lillywhites hope of a comeback with 15 minutes remaining, but Alan Browne’s dismissal for a late second yellow card dashed their chances of a late equaliser, and the hosts rode out eight minutes of added time to record a valuable three points.
Middlesbrough 0-1 Cardiff:
Cardiff kept up the pressure on leaders Wolves as Joe Ralls' late penalty secured a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.
Ralls drilled home from the spot in the 84th minute after substitute Adama Traore was penalised for a reckless challenge on Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
The win keeps Cardiff in second position in the table, two points behind Wolves, and saw Neil Warnock's side bounce back after picking up just one point from their previous two games.
Bristol City 0-3 Leeds United:
Leeds United returned to winning ways as they emphatically ended hosts Bristol City's 12-match unbeaten run.
Going into the match on a three-game losing streak in the Championship, Leeds needed a good start to boost confidence, and they got it when Saiz struck twice in the first-half - first in the fourth and again in the 14th minute.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga completed a convincing and overdue victory with a second-half header, before both sides were reduced to 10 men.
Leeds full-back Gaetano Berardi and City substitute Matt Taylor were shown red cards for a 79th-minute confrontation.
Taylor went down clutching his face, but was judged equally guilty and the incident sparked trouble between the two benches, with stewards getting involved.
Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham:
Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry scored his first Aston Villa goal to help them beat Fulham and move into the Championship play-off places.
The defender headed in a fine Conor Hourihane delivery, but Stefan Johansen equalised with a curling free-kick.
Villa regained the lead when Jonathan Kodjia's miss-kick fell for team-mate Albert Adomah to net at the back post.
Steve Bruce's Villa side are yet to lose at home in the league this season and rose to fifth place, while defeat ended Fulham's four-game unbeaten run and left them in mid-table.
Brentford 3-3 Sunderland:
Brentford came from 3-1 down at the break to deny struggling Sunderland a third Championship win of the season.
The Black Cats had only picked up four points from their past 10 matches and trailed to a Nico Yennaris tap-in.
But Lewis Grabban struck an equaliser, Bryan Oviedo's corner was fumbled in by keeper David Bentley for number two and Grabban's penalty made it 3-1.
Florian Jozefzoon's stunning effort got the Bees back in the game and Neal Maupay's deflected shot earned a point.
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Burton:
Second-half goals from Barrie McKay and Eric Lichaj helped Nottingham Forest see off hard-working Burton and ease some of the pressure on Mark Warburton with a battling 2-0 win.
Nigel Clough looked set to enjoy his return to familiar territory, with his Burton side on top for the first 45 minutes.
But Forest, who had suffered four Championship defeats in their previous five outings, rolled up their sleeves to grind out a victory that left Burton still stranded in the bottom three.
Derby County 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday:
The pressure increased on Sheffield Wednesday head coach Carlos Carvalhal after his team were beaten 2-0 at Derby and had skipper Glenn Loovens sent off.
The Owls have now won only one of their last six games and they were struggling from the fifth minute of the game, when Loovens brought down Matej Vydra and the forward scored from the penalty spot.
Wednesday did at least show some spirit and stayed in the match until the 86th minute, but substitute Bradley Johnson sealed Derby's victory with a late strike.
Barnsley 0-1 Hull:
Fraizer Campbell scored a late goal as Hull beat Barnsley 1-0 in the Sky Bet Championship to secure a first away league victory since August 2016.
The result at Oakwell pushes the Tigers up to 14th in the table and leaves Barnsley in 19th, hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone.
Substitute Campbell broke the deadlock with a goal from a corner in the 77th minute, ending the visitors' miserable run of away form which had seen them pick up just six points from a possible 72.
Sheffield United 2-1 Reading:
High-flying Sheffield United made it four wins out of their last five games with a 2-1 victory over Reading.
Paul Coutts and Billy Sharp put the hosts 2-0 up at the interval with Roy Beerens pulling a goal back for Reading late on.
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Bolton
Idrissa Sylla scored a stylish equaliser as QPR denied bottom side Bolton Wanderers a second straight win.
Wanderers led when Gary Madine knocked down Josh Vela's corner into the path of Darren Pratley, who headed in.
Vela missed a good chance to double the lead when he shot straight at Alex Smithies from a tight angle.
QPR pressed hard for an equaliser and were finally rewarded thanks to Sylla's flicked finish from Luke Freeman's cross.