Gab Sutton's EFL Team of the Week: Michael Skubala's Lincoln on fire

• Gab Sutton is a football expert who specialises in the Sky Bet EFL.

After every weekend of action, he builds an EFL Team of the Week and picks out a Sporting Life Star of the Week.

Goalkeeper

Vicente Reyes - Forest Green. An emergency loan from Norwich, Vicente Reyes has proved an inspired addition between the sticks for Forest Green.

The Chilean has started in three wins for Steve Cotterill’s side in six games, with the Nailsworth side only having won four of the previous 30 league encounters.

The 6’4” stopper was imperious, both in the 1-0 victory over Tranmere, and in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Walsall, in which he saved a crucial penalty from Isaac Hutchinson

Defenders

Jack Stacey – Norwich. Jack Stacey’s athleticism certainly came to the fore in Saturday’s 5-0 victory over Rotherham.

With the opposition sitting deep and narrow, and not being in the best shape generally, the former Luton right-back had space to drive into, and link up with Gabriel Sara – more of whom anon.

Stacey’s delivery was excellent, especially for Josh Sargent’s tidy finish that put the Canaries four goals ahead by half-time.

Japhet Tanganga – Millwall. One of the benefits of Millwall replacing Joe Edwards with Neil Harris, was relieving defenders of what can be the pressure of playing out from the back, especially with the team out of form.

Japhet Tanganga wasn’t playing badly under Edwards, the former Chelsea coach with progressive ideas but, with permission to focus only on defensive basics, he’s become a monster in the last four games.

The athletic defender has been imperious in his own box, and a threat in the opposition’s – two goals in four for the Tottenham loanee, after a 90th-minute winner in the crucial 1-0 victory over Birmingham.

Rav van den Berg – Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough haven’t always been great defensively this season, but they do have a great defender in Rav van den Berg.

The Netherlands U21s international has been Boro’s signing of the summer, arguably, and was instrumental to their 2-0 victory at QPR, making a pivotal last-ditch challenge on Michael Frey, after the centre-forward rounded the goalkeeper.

Harrison Burrows – Peterborough. Harrison Burrows has had to make the left-back spot his own this season, due to the form of Joel Randall and Ephron Mason-Clark in more advanced positions.

Burrows wouldn’t want to get pigeonholed as a left-back in the eyes of outsiders, but the 22-year-old is showing admirable versatility.

The Murrow-born was bright going forward in Posh’s 3-1 victory at Burton, a fourth consecutive league win for the automatic promotion chasers, and the utility man chipped in with a lovely delivery for Ricky-Jade Jones’ opener on his weaker foot.

Midfielders

Richie Smallwood – Bradford. Richie Smallwood, at 33, is unlikely to be a master of turning opponents as a deep-lying playmaker and beating the press that way, not being as agile as he used to be.

The threat of the front-three, though, in Bradford’s 3-0 victory at Accrington Stanley, gave Smallwood the space to turn unchallenged and face the opposing goal in possession, bringing his undoubted technical quality for the level to the table.

With the support of the energetic Alex Gilliead, Smallwood did the dirty work superbly and ran the midfield in East Lancashire, helping the Bantams to a fourth victory in five and a sixth game without defeat, boosting their Play-Off prospects in the process.

Gabriel Sara – Norwich. Sara’s movement was crucial to his combination play with Jack Stacey, mentioned above.

The Brazilian started attacking moves operating on the right side of midfield, but he often drifted infield to create those channels for Stacey to drive into, diversifying the threat for the opposition.

The 24-year-old opened the scoring by nodding home a Stacey cross, and he also closed it by walloping in the fifth goal with a stunning, left-footed volley from the edge of the box. Samba style.

Alex Gilbey – MK Dons. Smallwood is used to having one name beginning with ‘Alex Gil’ alongside him, but we’ve gone with Gilbey of MK Dons, after he inspired them to a 3-1 victory over Salford, setting up the equaliser and grabbing the winner.

Mike Williamson’s style is such that he likes the more technical operators like Jack Payne and Lewis Bate in deeper positions, but Gilbey wasn’t to be kept out of the team, even with the talents of Ethan Robson, Stephen Wearne and Dan Kemp in the match-day squad.

The MK legend, who returned for his second stint in the summer, has thrived in a pressing role in attacking midfield, and sets the tone with his work against the ball – oh, and he’s into double figures for the season.

🌟 Jack Moylan – Lincoln. Lincoln’s attack has a little bit of everything at the moment. The presence and link-up play provided by Ben House, the pace, work ethic and finishing ability of Joe Taylor, and the individuality of Jack Moylan.

When you have a team that’s superbly coached, with clear, incisive patterns of play, infused with the ball-carrying ability of somebody who can create chances on their own, either for themselves or for others, you have something special – see 2010-11 Barca.

Alright, we won’t get ahead of ourselves with the comparison, but this young, vibrant Lincoln City side was sheer dynamite in Saturday’s 5-1 thrashing of in-form promotion contenders Barnsley at Oakwell – and Moylan was the jewel in the crown.

Forwards

Joe Taylor – Lincoln. One of the reasons why Moylan was able to weave his magic was because Taylor occupied defences so well, and never gave them a moment’s peace with his direct, penetrative runs off the ball, not to mention the way he hassled and harried them all game.

Taylor has made quite the impression since joining on loan from Luton, with three goals and two assists in 10 games, having grabbed one of either in South Yorkshire.

If the Hatters come back down to the Championship, the persistent Taylor will surely be part of their plans.

Sonny Cox – Exeter. After Sonny Cox grabbed a quickfire brace at the start of the second half in a 2-2 draw with Bolton, Exeter City could be forgiven for feeling relief at having tied the young forward down to a two-year deal earlier in the week.

Going into January, all the talk in this corner of Devon was the importance of strengthening up top, but few predicted the biggest impact in that area would be the recall of Cox from Yeovil in the National League South.

Having been something of a tap-in merchant previously, the poacher hit two quality strikes against the Trotters, producing one 20-yard lob, before lashing a fierce, left-footed effort into the roof of the net.

Those who want him now will have to pay top dollar.

Manager

Michael Skubala – Lincoln. Lincoln City fans love Michael Skubala so much, they currently sing his surname to the tune of Voulez-Vouz by ABBA, after the board took a chance on him.

The Imps head coach had managed Leeds as caretaker in the Premier League, but otherwise relied on his experience as a coach, partly with England Under-18s.

With that in mind, Skubala has done wonders to deliver 32 points from 21 games in charge, and now closing the six-point gap to the Play-Offs is the name of the game.

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