Sunday's Division One Round-Up: Week 11

The Results

The Table

Wolves, who lost at home for the first time this season to Crewe in midweek, lost once again at Molineux to Palace, whose seventh straight victory puts them in top spot. Norwich remain up in third position and Burnley's draw to out-of-form Barnsley is enough to keep them fourth. Birmingham's comprehensive victory over Bradford sees them sneak up to sixth place with Portsmouth just behind them. Coventry, Man City and Forest remain in the top half but outside the play-off spots.

Watford's win over Grimsby sees them climb to 13th place whilst Bradford continue to fall down the league after losing their fourth game in five. Preston's win this afternoon pushes them into the top half. Sheff Utd and Grimsby are now set in the bottom half as both teams struggle to win, and Rotherham's third win in four games puts them on 14 points and just behind the Mariners. Gillingham have been sucked into a relegation battle and Sheff Wed's win over Walsall keeps the Saddlers in the bottom three but the Owls move up to 21st spot. Stockport, without a home win this season, remain rooted to the bottom.

Latest League Table

Division's Talent

Matt Clark (left) has been earning rave reviews for his heroic performances in goal for his new club Crystal Palace. He kept another clean sheet yesterday in Palace's 1-0 win at Wolves and is proving to be a shrewd buy for manager Steve Bruce. He silenced his main critic, Bradford manager Jim Jefferies, by keeping a clean sheet against the Bantams last week.

Millwall's industrious midfielder Tim Cahill (right) was on the scoresheet for the Lions yesterday as they were involved in a 3-3 draw with Forest. Cahill, who has the option to play for either England or Australia, is still young and will surely have a prosperous career ahead of him being such an obvious talent.

Once a loanee for Grimsby Town but more famous for his appearances as Chelsea keeper, Dave Beasant (left) still continues in goal but is making his trade at Portsmouth. He kept Sheff Utd at bay yesterday and showed why he still plays in this division by turning in a match-winning performance.

Town's Next Opponents

Manchester City have had a rather eccentric start to the season. They have failed to get into the top positions of the league yet they have a strike force that wouldn't look out of place in the Premiership. They have scored a staggering 29 goals so far, against Town's poultry 15. Grimsby's only hope is that the City defence is also quite leaky, but the Mariners' top scorer (Rowan and Jevons) with 4 is nothing against Goater and Wanchope (left) who have both entered double figures already. The gulf between the two sides is so apparent Grimsby fans should be praying that both Goater and Wanchope have an 'off day'.

Path for Grimsby

After the midweek game against Man City, Grimsby return to Blundell Park on Friday night when they face Birmingham. Then on the last day of the month Norwich travel to Cleethorpes before the Town squad travel to face Wimbledon the following Saturday. The squad are given a week's rest before they start all over again on November 10 when they go to Sheff Wed. There is another absence of a midweek game before they play Millwall on November 17 Full Fixture List.

Next Week

(all Tuesday unless stated)

Birmingham - Gillingham
Burnley - Crystal Palace
Crewe - Stockport (Wed)
Man City - Grimsby
Millwall - Bradford
Norwich - Portsmouth
Preston - Sheff Utd
Sheff Wed - Barnsley (Wed)
Walsall - Rotherham
Watford - Notts Forest
West Brom - Wolves (Thu)
Wimbledon - Coventry (Wed)