The Rams welcome Watford to Pride Park Stadium tomorrow looking to build upon last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, courtesy of Theo Robinson’s 93rd minute equaliser.
Gianfranco Zola’s Watford lie in 5th position in the npower Championship after three games. The Italian started life at the Hornets with a 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace, before an injury time goal from Ipswich Town’s Michael Chopra three days later meant Zola’s bow at Vicarage Road ended in defeat.
However, the former Chelsea striker’s disappointed was short lived as on-loan Udinese pair Almen Abdi and Matej Vydra were both on target in an impressive 2-0 home win over Birmingham City last weekend live on Sky Sports.
Here on
dcfc.co.uk, we will bring you all you need to know ahead of the Rams’ encounter with the Hornets.
Derby County Team News
Defender Jake Buxton is back in contention for a place amongst the Rams’ starting XI after a virus ruled the former Mansfield Town man out of the side’s last two fixtures at Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.
Manager Nigel Clough is set to give Conor Sammon a home debut after two appearances on the road after arriving from Wigan Athletic, and Clough must decide whether to keep Jamie Ward up front or recall Robinson to the starting XI after coming off the bench to score at Wolves.
James Bailey (thigh) and Tom Naylor (groin) are expected to return to full training next week, whilst Mark O’Brien (knee) will see a specialist over the next seven days as he continues his rehabilitation from long-term injury.
Elsewhere, 16-year-old striker Mason Bennett will be unavailable for selection after being called up to the England Under-17s for the fixtures against Italy and Turkey.
Shaun Barker (knee) is out for the season but the Club Captain has a big part to play off the field.
Watford Team News
Fitz Hall and Alex Geijo returned to full training earlier this week after missing the 2-0 win over Birmingham, however the duo are unlikely to be fit enough for a place in the matchday squad of 18.
Former Ram John Eustace (back) and Prince Buaben (thigh) are both ruled out, whilst Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (groin) is a slight doubt after picking up a knock in the side's Capital One Cup defeat to Bradford City.
We Said
Manager Nigel Clough: “Although there’s still (John) Eustace and (Martin) Taylor there are not too many names in their squad that we recognise from last season.
“But the manager has got great experience and if he gets anybody half as good as he was as a player then they will be doing alright!
“They were maybe a bit fortunate to get a win at Palace on the opening day after scoring two late goals, but then they suffered with a late goal themselves against Ipswich at home.
“But we need to concentrate on ourselves and that is something we are going to do more and more this season; we have got a team now that other sides should be worrying about.”
Ticket Information
Tickets are still available in areas of Pride Park with prices starting from £20 for adults, £14.50 for senior citizens and £8.50 for under 18 in Category E areas rising to just £28 for adults, £18 for senior citizens and £12.50 in Category AA seats. The game category for this match is Silver.
Matchday prices are subject to change under the wing of Dynamic Ticket Pricing, so make sure you buy early to ensure you get your seat at the best possible price.
Tickets can be purchased right up until kick-off from the Digonex Ticket Office, by calling 0871 472 1884 (option 1) and by visiting
WeAreDerby.com.
Man In The Middle
Paul Tierney from Lancashire will take charge of proceedings at Pride Park Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
The game will be Tierney’s first npower Championship fixture of the season, after taking charge of two Capital One Cup fixtures, one League One game and One League two game.
In his four games this season, Tierney has brandished 12 yellow cards and one red card.
Tierney’s previous Rams fixture came last season in the side’s 2-2 draw with Birmingham City at St Andrews.
Last season Tierney dished out 104 yellow cards and 11 red cards in the 36 games he officiated.
Fancy A Flutter?
Coral, the official betting and gaming partner of
dcfc.co.uk, are offering odds of
11/8 for the Rams to secure their first npower Championship victory of the season.
A draw is priced at
23/10, and Coral are also offering odds of
19/10 for an away victory for Zola’s men. More odds on the game and all this weekend's matches are available at
http://www.coral.co.uk/fli/derby-county.
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