Back at St George’s Park, Derby County’s Under-23s will be looking to bounce back from their disappointment in the Premier League Cup when they face Chelsea.
With it, the Rams will also be looking to take a massive stride towards confirming Premier League 2 Division 1 safety and dcfc.co.uk has pulled together all the information you are going to need to know ahead of kick-off…
WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS
Barring any call-ups to the first team for the meeting with Sunderland, Darren Wassall is likely to have a similar squad to call upon when the Rams’ Under-23s take on Chelsea.
Kyle McAllister returned in the 2-1 extra-time defeat to Sheffield United earlier this week and could step up his return to full fitness against the Blues.
It has been confirmed that Ross Barkley is likely to feature for Chelsea at St George’s Park.
SETTING THE SCENE
Four games separate Derby County’s Under-23s from the end of the season.
And following their 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United in the Premier League Cup all of the focus is now on ensuring that the Rams retain their Premier League 2 Division 1 status for a third year.
A win over Chelsea will put significant ground between Derby and the bottom two – currently occupied by Sunderland and Manchester United – and Darren Wassall feels his side will need to get at least one win to give themselves a real fighting chance of staying up.
“It would be an achievement for the players [to remain in Division One], they have worked really hard this season and performed very, very well,” Wassall told dcfc.co.uk.
“They’ve lost quite a lot of their squad, quite rightly, to the league clubs on loan.
“But four games to go, we need to win at least one to have a chance of staying up so it’s all to play for. We will refocus very quickly and try to get a result on Saturday.”
Read Darren Wassall’s and Kyle McAllister’s full pre-match interviews now on dcfc.co.uk.
HOW CAN I ATTEND?
As was the case last season, supporters will be able to watch Derby County’s Under-23s for FREE at St George’s Park on Saturday afternoon.
No tickets for admission is needed ahead of the fixture at Burton-upon-Trent base, whilst car parking spaces are available on a first come first served basis.
A MATCH TO REMEMBER!
DERBY COUNTY U23s 2-1 CHELSEA U23s
Friday 5th May, 2017
Derby County’s Under 23s retained their Premier League 2 Division 1 status in style by defeating Chelsea 2-1 at Pride Park Stadium in the final match of the 2016/17 campaign.
Mason Bennett broke the deadlock just before the half hour mark with a superb finish, but against the run of play, Ike Ugbo struck from close range to level matters.
At this point, the game could have gone either way, but Darren Wassall’s side responded immediately as Kellan Gordon, returning from injury, struck a cross shot into the far corner.
Chelsea dominated the second half, despite Trevoh Chalobah seeing red, but Derby, defensively, were immaculate as they saw the game out to ensure they will remain in the top flight of Premier League 2 football for the 2017/18 campaign.
Derby County U23s: Mitchell, Stabana, Wassall, Macdonald, Karic (Santos, 82); Bird (Bateman, 90), Babos, Gordon; Cresswell, Bennett, Jakobsen
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Walker, Cover
Chelsea U23s: Collins; Sterling, Nartey (Colley, 63), T. Chalobah, C. Dasilva; Sammut (McCormick, 70), Scott; Maddox, Quintero (St Clair, 70), Mount; Ugbo
Substitutes not used: Thompson, Suljic
HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?
Rams supporters not attending Saturday’s fixture will be able to follow all of the action LIVE and for FREE on RamsTV. As usual, you will also be able to keep up to date with all the key moments across the official Derby County Academy Twitter account, @dcfcofficial, whilst a full match report, match images, reaction and match highlights will follow across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV after the full-time whistle.
