Sky Sports selects the best of the bunch from the opening two rounds of Championship fixtures.
Team of the week
David Marshall - Cardiff City
Cardiff are the only team not to have conceded a goal yet in the Championship and goalkeeper Marshall has been a key factor behind their defensive solidity. He made a number of excellent saves in the opening-day victory over Huddersfield and was again on top of his game as the Bluebirds played out a 0-0 stalemate against Brighton in midweek.
Jack Hunt - Huddersfield Town
Hunt is reportedly attracting the interest of clubs in the Premier League and, judging by his first couple of performances in the Championship, it is not hard to see why. The Terriers look like they will be hard to break down this season and Hunt has defended well in both their games so far, while he won the penalty against Nottingham Forest that resulted in Jordan Rhodes' equaliser with a typically dynamic run that was stopped in its tracks by a Dan Harding foul.
Mark Hudson - Cardiff City
Another member of Cardiff's impenetrable defensive unit, Hudson also made a match-winning contribution against Huddersfield as the Bluebirds, playing in their new red strip for the first time in a competitive fixture, left it late to pick up three points. Hudson grabbed the crucial goal as he thundered home a ferocious shot in injury-time, before marshalling the rest of the back four as they kept another clean sheet at Brighton.
Leon Cort - Charlton Athletic
Charlton have made a promising start to life back in the second tier with a draw and then a victory from tricky games against Birmingham and Leicester. It looked like Cort's goal at St Andrew's would prove to be the winner until they were denied right at the death, while the 32-year-old was at his commanding best with a number of crucial blocks as the Addicks saw off the Foxes.
Reda Johnson - Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday are another newly-promoted team going well after two games and Johnson has been one of their star men, demonstrating a keen eye for goal to supplement his defensive qualities. He scored the equaliser against Derby at the weekend with a header in the 90th minute and then set the Owls on their way to a 3-2 success against Birmingham.
Nicky Bailey - Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough have been tipped to mount a strong promotion challenge this season and they showed against Burnley on Tuesday they are capable of conjuring goals from nowhere with three wonder-strikes. Bailey netted Boro's opener in a 3-2 victory with a screamer from distance, and is rewarded with a place in our Team of the Week.
Owen Garvan - Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may be languishing at the bottom of the embryonic Championship table but Garvan caught the eye in the opening-day 3-2 defeat by Watford. The midfielder twice put the Eagles in front, first with a coolly-taken penalty and then with a fierce strike past Manuel Almunia after controlling a flick-on from Julian Speroni's goal-kick.
Adlene Guedioura - Nottingham Forest
Guedioura completed a permanent move to Nottingham Forest over the summer and made the perfect start to the new campaign with the winning goal against Bristol City on Saturday. It looked like Forest would make it two wins out of two when they took the lead against Huddersfield, only to be pegged back in the final minute.
Colin Kazim-Richards - Blackburn Rovers
Back in English football after developing his game across Europe over the past few years, the early signs are that Kazim-Richards could be one of the shrewdest signings of the transfer window in the Championship. He capped a lively display in the draw against Ipswich with a headed goal, before again showing his predatory instincts to notch the winner against Hull City, although he later went down with a knee injury to give beleaguered boss Steve Kean a fitness concern.
Nikola Zigic - Birmingham City
A number of strikers have scored two goals so far and unfortunately not everyone can make the cut. Zigic is one of those to find the target in each of his first two games, having equalised against Charlton and then struck again in the 3-2 loss to Sheffield Wednesday. Speculation continues to link him with a move elsewhere and it would be big blow for Blues to lose such a potent attacking weapon.
Thomas Ince - Blackpool
Blackpool sit proudly on top of the Championship with the only 100 per cent winning record, and Ince has been in scintillating form in their opening two games. The 20-year-old netted both his team's goals in the opening 2-0 victory away to Millwall and then inspired a comeback against Leeds on Tuesday by setting up Matt Phillips for the winning goal.
