Sorry Wednesday for Owls as Baggies assert themselves

West Brom moved to within a point of Championship leaders Leeds with a comprehensive 3-0 win away at Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night.

Brazilian Matheus Pereira did much of the damage for the Baggies as he hit a brace with Charlie Austin notching their other goal from the penalty spot.

Slaven Bilic's men now have 74 points, one behind table-topping Leeds, while the win also provided a five point cushion between the Baggies and in-form Brentford. 

Derby, Nottingham and Huddersfield with vital victories

A wonderful free-kick from Wayne Rooney was enough to beat one of the Rams' top six rivals, Preston North End, at Deepdale. The 34-year-old has been an influential figure since joining County mid-season and he scored the only goal of the game with a perfect curling free-kick that is definitely worth watching.

A third successive win since the Championship restart puts Derby just one point outside the play-off places with six matches remaining. Preston, meanwhile, are stuttering badly having not won in six games. They remain just four points away from a play-off spot, but need to get their act together quickly. 

©Getty / Alex Livesey

At the City Ground, Tiago Silva’s stunning free-kick made it back-to-back victories for Nottingham Forest as they beat Bristol City 1-0. The Portuguese midfielder brilliantly bent the second-half winner over the wall, giving substitute City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley no chance.

Forest remain in the hunt for automatic promotion in fourth place, two points behind Brentford, while the Robins' third straight defeat since the Championship resumption sees them in 12th with 55 points.

Huddersfield Town had a big night, as they escaped the Championship's bottom three with a 3-0 win over Birmingham City at St. Andrews - their biggest away win of the season. Karlan Grant scored for the visitors from the penalty spot with Fraizer Campbell and Elias Kachunga scoring the other two goals for the Terriers.

Birmingham stay in 17th, while Huddersfield climb out of the relegation zone two points clear of the bottom three.

I don’t care what anybody says, I love this game! I’m part of a team with great characters...

It’s about how you rise after being down.

My men of the match were Schindy and @the_stears.

Games come thick and fast, I’m happy now, but tomorrow we look to Saturday!#UTT #htafc pic.twitter.com/JQMgyMRzif

— Jonas Lössl (@JonasLoessl) July 1, 2020