Sheffield United (A)

A first trip to Bramall Lane since February 2011 awaits the Rams in their final game before the first international break of the 2017/18 season.

Derby County make the short trip to Sheffield United off the back of a three-game winning run and ahead of the match, dcfc.co.uk has pulled together all the key information you are going to need to know…

WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS?

Gary Rowett has suggested that Johnny Russell could return to training today (Friday) after recovering from a groin injury sustained in the 2-1 win at Bolton Wanderers.

The wideman, who has started all of the Rams’ Sky Bet Championship fixtures thus far, played the full game at the Macron Stadium, but picked up the injury late on.

After being rested for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup first round win at Grimsby Town, however, he could return to the fold.

Rowett, the Derby manager, has also said that Craig Forsyth could join George Thorne in turning out for the Under-23s on Friday night when they face Sunderland.

That aside, the Rams have no new injury worries with Darren Bent, Jamie Hanson and Max Lowe still ruled out of action.

WHAT DID THE BOSS HAVE TO SAY?

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bramall Lane, Gary Rowett said: “I expect a game with a bit more intensity; whenever I have seen Sheffield United the crowd at Bramall Lane has been furciferous.

“At Bolton last week, and perhaps that was down to our performance, it didn’t feel like the atmosphere was quite as aggressive as Sheffield United will be.

“I am very sure the atmosphere will be good on Saturday, it always is up there, and given we are taking a good following too it has the makings of a decent game.

“Chris Wilder has a done a fantastic job there and he is a really good guy. He’s had a fantastic run as a manager and in his last two jobs – at Northampton Town and then Sheffield United – he hasn’t stopped winning!

“They play a back five and did for most of the time last season. We’ve played Wolves, Preston and Bolton recently who have all played with a back five so it’s a similar test to what we’ve been up against recently.”

WHO IS THE PLAYER TO WATCH?

Averaging just over a goal in every two games, it’s no surprise that our spotlight falls on Sheffield United’s captain, leader and most importantly goalscorer, Billy Sharp.

He’s back where it all began... for a third, the now 31-year-old found the back of the net 30 times in just 49 games in all competitions as he fired the Blades, his boyhood club, back to the Championship last campaign as League 1 champions.

Unsurprisingly, his form saw him recognised as the EFL League 1 Player of the Year, whilst he also took his career goalscoring tally beyond the 200 mark.

He has picked up where he left off this season too by scoring the winning goal in Sheffield United’s first game back in the Championship – a 1-0 victory over Brentford – and last weekend’s South Yorkshire derby success over Barnsley.

Sharp has been a regular scorer at all the clubs he has been at, having also turned out for likes of Scunthorpe United, Doncaster Rovers, Southampton, Nottingham Forest, Reading and Leeds United throughout his career.

HOW YOU CAN SECURE YOUR SEAT?

It was announced earlier this month that Derby County’s entire allocation of tickets had sold out for their Sky Bet Championship visit to Sheffield United.

The allocation of 2,393 seats were quickly snapped up, making the game a complete sell-out for Rams fans before they had even gone on general sale.

The Derby County Ticket Office has been, however, running a waiting list should they have any tickets returned.

Those interested in being added to the waiting list should email [email protected] with their name and Fan ID.

WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME WE MET?

SHEFFIELD UNITED 0-1 DERBY COUNTY
Saturday 26th February 2011

Theo Robinson’s first goal for Derby County was a crucial one as they ended an eight-game winless run by beating relegation-bound Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in their last meeting in February 2011.

The forward, who had signed from Millwall on a loan deal only a week earlier, scrambled the ball into the back of the net from six-yards out after the Blades had failed to deal with Daniel Ayala’s left-wing cross.

The finish had come against the run of play after John Brayford had been forced to clear Neil Collins’ header off the line, before Michael Doyle had also wasted an effort.

It meant the Blades were without a win in 12 games under Micky Adams as they went on to be relegated to League 1 at the end of the 2010/11 season, whilst Derby finished 19th.

Sheffield United: Simonsen, Nosworthy, Collins, Ertl, Lowton; Williamson, Doyle (Vokes, 70), Quinn (Bent, 70), Riise; Cresswell (Bogdanovic, 63), Evans

Substitutes not used: Long, Yeates, Kozluk, McAllister

Derby County: Fielding, Green, Barker, Ayala, Brayford; Davies (Buxton, 88), Savage, Addison, Pearson (Cywka, 57); Porter (Davies, 80), Robinson

Substitutes not used: Atkins, Pringle, Doyle, Bueno

Attendance: 21,084

WHO ARE THE MATCH OFFICIALS?

Andrew Madley will take charge of Derby County's 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship fixture at Sheffield United on Saturday.

Madley has overseen five games so far this season, producing nine yellows and no reds.

His last Derby game was the 1-0 away defeat at Aston Villa back in February.

Madley will be assisted by Mark Russell and James Wilson on the lines, whilst Philip Dermott has been appointed as the fourth official.

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?

Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from our #SUFCvDCFC Matchday Live production:

FRIDAY

• The Sheffield United Preview Show (6pm) Leading into the live broadcast of the Under-23s’ Premier League 2 Division 1 match against Sunderland at Pride Park Stadium (7pm), Colin Gibson is joined by Roger Davies and Darren Bent to look ahead to the trip to Bramall Lane.
• The Pre-Match Press Conference (3pm) – supporters will be able to watch back Gary Rowett’s and Curtis Davies’ full pre-Sheffield United press conference.

SATURDAY

• Matchday Live will begin with a pre-match show at 2:15pm ahead of the 3pm kick-off.
• Former Derby defender Michael Johnson joins host Colin Gibson as a live studio guest to discuss the game ahead and team news coming out of Bramall Lane.
• A pre-match interview with Gary Rowett ahead of kick-off.
• If you are based in the UK and Republic of Ireland you will be able to listen to live audio commentary from BBC Radio Derby, whilst subscribers based within the UK will be able to watch every kick of the action – with Jack Woodward and Darren Bent providing commentary.

SUNDAY

• Match Highlights and the full Matchday Live show will be available to view for supporters in the UK the day after each first-team fixture on 12pm across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV.

TUESDAY

• The Sheffield United Review Show (6pm) Due to the Bank Holiday Weekend, our review show will be broadcast on Tuesday 29th August and Colin Gibson will be joined by Jack Woodward and Michael Johnson to review the trip to Bramall Lane and look back on the first month of the season.

The RamsTV streaming service is available to all supporters who register on dcfc.co.uk.

To access the full RamsTV streaming service will cost the following:

First-Team Match Streaming (outside UK) - £110 annual subscription or £12.50 per month
First-Team Audio Commentary (worldwide) - £45 annual subscription or £5 per month

A link to packages can be found here.

The two premium services are in addition to the regular pre-match and post-match interviews on RamsTV.

Supporters will also be able to follow all of the action, as usual, across our social media channels.

We will be providing behind the scenes content across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where we will also provide a blow-by-blow account of proceedings at Bramall Lane.