3/1 To Win
After Derby County secured their third consecutive win on Sunday as they beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in the Third Round of the Emirates FA Cup, midfielder Tom Huddlestone has challenged his team-mates to continue that good form in a bid to climb the Sky Bet Championship table.
Chris Martin’s fifth goal of the season, just after the half hour mark, secured the Rams’ passage through to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup and extended Derby’s winning run to three games.
Two consecutive 2-1 victories at home against Charlton Athletic and Barnsley, matched with Sunday’s victory, have given Derby an added confidence going into their upcoming fixtures.
They travel to the Riverside Stadium to take on Middlesbrough, who sit level on points with the Rams, on Saturday, and then face Hull City at Pride Park Stadium a week later.
Huddlestone believes it is a perfect opportunity to continue the momentum built up in recent games.
“With Wayne Rooney coming in and being available to play, it has given the place a lift,” he told RamsTV. “I thought the win against Charlton Athletic when Krystian Bielik got sent off early doors was a big test of character for the boys.
“The ten-men stuck together and grinded out a brilliant win on the night. We seemed to have picked up a bit of momentum from that.
“Also, clean sheets are difficult to come by, but I think the back four of Curtis Davies and Craig Forsyth were resilient against Palace. Kelle Roos made some good saves as well and he has been out the team recently.
“I thought we played well and deserved the clean sheet. Everything is up for grabs now.
“Leeds and West Brom are sort of running away with the league, probably Brentford or Fulham may fancy their chances to catch one of them.
“Other than that, I feel that fifth and sixth place are up for grabs. We have shown how close we can get with back-to-back league wins.
“We need to continue that, get on a bit of a run and gain some momentum going. A few other lads, as well as myself, are back to full fitness and back from suspension, so hopefully that gives the manager a headache and raises the standard a little bit with everyone fighting to be in the starting line-up.”
Derby head north this weekend aiming to cut the gap between themselves and the play-off places but Huddlestone knows they face a tough encounter against Middlesbrough, who have improved in recent weeks under the stewardship of Jonathan Woodgate.
“That will be a test,” he admitted. “We played them earlier in the year and they could have scored in the first couple of minutes, but I think after that we did well and won 2-0.
“Jonathan Woodgate has got them playing a different way and the hectic Christmas period has helped them get on a bit of a run but we have three wins on the bounce so we will be going in full of confidence."
