Ghana forward Andre Ayew has been named in in the combined Championship Playoff XI by reputable football statistics website whoscored.com.
Ayew scored 15 league goals to help the Swans book qualification to the Championship playoffs.
The portal used their unique rating system to determine a best combined XI of Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff and Swansea, with the Bees the dominant side in this team.
Goalkeeper
Considering he features between the sticks in the Championship team of the season, Fulham’s Marek Rodak makes the cut in the best combined XI. The young Slovak shotstopper kept 13 clean sheets in the Championship this term, while a save success rate of 75% was better than any other goalkeeper to make more than 10 appearances in 2019/20.
Defenders
Three of the four playoff sides make the cut in defence, with Brentford boasting two players and Cardiff and Fulham one apiece. Starting with the Bees duo, Ethan Pinnock proved an inspired capture from Barnsley last summer as he yielded a WhoScored rating of 7.23. Forming a solid partnership with Pontus Jansson, with his 4.9 clearances and 5.7 aerial duels won per 90 both ranking highly in the Championship this season.
Henrik Dalsgaard is the second Brentford representative following another solid campaign from right-back. The Dane started 42 of 46 league matches, including a handful of outings at centre-back, as he came away from the regular campaign with a WhoScored rating of 6.90.
Cardiff centre-back Sean Morrison partners Pinnock at the back in this XI. The Cardiff defender’s WhoScored rating of 7.26 was enough to make the Championship team of the season, with his 243 aerial duels won the second highest of all centre-backs in the division and reinforcing a strength of ‘aerial duels’.
The final defender is Fulham’s Joe Bryan who, like Rodak and Morrison, also make the Championship team of the season. The left-back pushed forward well when handed the chance to get forward, registering seven assists for Scott Parker’s side. Meanwhile, Bryan’s 117 tackles was more than any other defender in England’s second tier this term.
Midfielders
The Championship player of the season makes the cut on the left flank as Said Benrahma hopes to fire Brentford to the Premier League for the first time. The Algerian was in sparkling form for the Bees this term as his WhoScored rating (7.51) suggests. 17 goals and eight assists was a fine return for Benrahma, who’ll likely be plying his trade in the Premier League next season be it at Brentford or elsewhere.
On the right flank, Andre Ayew is the first of two Swansea players to feature. Like Benrahma, Ayew also made the Championship team of the season as he yielded a WhoScored rating of 7.35, with his 15 goals and seven assists contributing to his inclusion.
Benrahma the star among Brentford quartet in combined Championship Playoff XI
Swansea skipper Matt Grimes is the second and final Swansea representative in the combined XI of the four play off sides. Like Ayew, Grimes also laid on seven assists and was a tackling machine for the Swans this term having made more tackles (130) than any other Championship player.
Welsh rivals Swansea and Cardiff link up in the middle of the park as Joe Ralls completes the midfield. The 26-year-old put in a notable shift from midfield as he scored seven and provided three assists and worked well off the ball, putting in 2.4 tackles per 90, to come away from the regular season with a WhoScored rating of 7.05.
Forwards
The league’s top scorers form the front pairing in the combined playoff XI. Aleksandar Mitrovic pipped Ollie Watkins to the Golden Boot, with the Serb bagging 26 league goals to his English counterpart’s 25. Both players scored 18 clear-cut goalscoring opportunities to cap fine seasons and they’ll now be hoping to fire Fulham and Brentford, respectively, to the Premier League.
