A look at the key players in the Championship play-off final
Aston Villa take on Derby in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Monday.
Here, Press Association Sport’s Ciara Clarke looks at three key players for each side who could potentially be key in securing promotion for their teams.
Aston Villa
Jed Steer
After being recalled following Orjan Nyland’s injury, Steer has gone from strength to strength at the club. His shining moment came in the second leg of the play-off semi-final which ended in a penalty shoot-out against West Brom. He saved Mason Holgate and Ahmed Hegazi’s spot-kicks to ensure that Villa booked their place at Wembley.
Tammy Abraham
On loan from Chelsea, Tammy Abraham has made his mark at Villa Park. He scored in his home debut against Rotherham and has remained a key player, appearing in 40 games this season and contributing 26 goals in all competitions. He fired Villa to Wembley, scoring the final penalty in their 4-3 shootout win.
John McGinn
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
McGinn arrived from Hibernian last summer and made his debut for Villa in a 3-2 win against Wigan. His swerving 25-yard volley against Sheffield Wednesday back in September was widely regarded as one of the goals of the season. McGinn is a key creative force in the centre of the park for Villa and has chipped in with six goals this season.
Derby County
Jayden Bogle
Bogle has remained one of the main forces in the clubs’ defence this season. He has been part of 10 clean sheets in his 49 appearances this season and played a key role in denying Leeds their place at Wembley in the play-off semi-final.
Harry Wilson
Wilson has made 52 appearances in all competitions this season at Derby and has become a key asset to the team scoring 18 goals. In the semi-final, Wilson assisted Mason Mount to score in the first minute of the second half. He then went on to score himself from the penalty to make it 3-1.
Jack Marriott
Marriott made his impact known to the club when he scored his first goal for Derby against Manchester United back in September. He has continued to be a key man, with 42 appearances and 12 goals in all competitions this season. He came off the bench in Derby’s semi-final against Leeds to get his side back into the contest with his first touch and secured their Wembley place with his goal in the 85th minute.
FourFourTwo was launched in 1994 on the back of a World Cup that England hadn’t even qualified for. It was an act of madness… but it somehow worked out. Our mission is to offer our intelligent, international audience access to the game’s biggest names, insightful analysis... and a bit of a giggle. We unashamedly love this game and we hope that our coverage reflects that.