3/1 To Win
Joe Bateman wants to build on his previous East Midlands derby success when Derby County’s Under-23s take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League Cup at Pride Park Stadium on Monday night.
It’s sure to be a big night for the Rams, as Darren Wassall’s side look to continue their strong start and take control of Group A, with Bateman keen to create some more derby memories under the lights at Pride Park.
Looking back on his favourite East Midlands derby moments, the young defender told RamsTV: “I scored the winner away at Forest when I was in the Under-10s, but for the first team it has to be the 5-0 win in 2014, I don’t think you can beat that in a local derby.
“It’s always a massive game, even now it’s still the one that you look forward to and it’s the first one you notice on the fixture list. It’s another game where we can go out and show what we can do.
“I think everyone is looking forward to it, it’s a good test and it’s always nice to play at the stadium and get minutes there when you can because it’s where you aspire to play in the future.”
Derby have enjoyed a drastic improvement in results lately, winning six out of their seven games in all competitions since mid-September, including superb victories against the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and German side Wolfsburg.
Prior to Forest’s visit, Bateman explained how the positive atmosphere within the squad has contributed to a series of impressive performances on the pitch in recent weeks.
He said: “The changing room is buzzing, we’re going into every game thinking that we can get a result. With the players we have, we know that they will perform and give us a bit of magic.
“We’re taking more chances, the performances at the start of the season were positive but now we’ve really kicked on and we’ve added some resilience as well.
“As a team that’s something that we really wanted to work on, last season we conceded a few too many goals but this year the number of clean sheets has really helped us and the strikers are doing their job at the other end of the pitch.”
