Promotion hopefuls Derby County travel to the Bet365 stadium to play 13th place Stoke City in an English Championship match on Wednesday. The Potters are 8 points off their hosts and 13 points off top placed Norwich. Stoke are seeking a quick return to the Premier League while Derby are also aiming to secure promotion. Both sides need to win this game.
Frank Lampard’s Derby have alternated between victory and defeat in their last 4 games in all competitions but have 4 league wins in their last 6. Frank Lampard has kept up the good work of Gary Rowett last season by ensuring Derby remain within touching distance of league leaders Norwich and Boro. The Rams are occupying the last play off spot and are only 3 points behind an automatic promotion place in 2nd. Derby have not lost in their previous 4 and are a good travelling side having not lost on the road in 4 games with 2 wins and 2 draws. Only 3 more teams in the Championship have garnered more point on their travels than Derby.
Harry Wilson equalised for Derby before Jack Marriott scored his 6th goal in 8 games to secure a 2-1 win for the Rams over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. That was a solid response to Derby’s shock 3-0 home loss to Aston Villa before the international break.
Gary Rowett will hope to inflict a defeat on his former side as his team try to come out of 3 successive draws in the league. Stoke sit 13th on the table and have so far failed to deliver on the fans expectations of a promotion fight. It’s not too late to pick up on such a quest but if they are going to, there are little margins left for error. While Stoke have drawn 2 of their last 3 home games, they are unbeaten in 5 games in the league. They need to start finding a way to turn the draws into victories.
Rowett was left displeased with his side’s failure to hang on for a win against QPR on Saturday. Angel Rangel put QPR in front as early as the 7th minute but goals from Saido Berahino and Joe Allen put Stoke ahead only for Rangel to register his brace with 12 minutes left on the clock. Rowett was left to rue his team’s luck saying “We're close. We're not quite winning and we're not getting the breaks."
Team news
Mame Biram Diouf is pushing for a return but Erik Pieters is still sidelined. Bruno Martins Indi is expected to deputise for Pieters. Sam Clucas made his home debut at the weekend and may yet keep his place in the starting XI.
Derby Youngster, Jayden Bogle is available for selection again and may come in for Andre Wisdom. Tom Lawrence, Craig Bryson and Curtis Davies are in line for recalls while George Evans remains absent. Mason Mount returned to the squad on Saturday and is available to play in this fixture.
Verdict
Derby are the team in form while Stoke are refusing to lose in recent matches. This could yet end in another draw for the Potters. Prediction is a hard fought 1-1 draw, Derby will have to settle for an away point.
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