3/1 To Win
Phillip Cocu has stressed the importance of being on the front-foot when Derby County take on Blackburn Rovers in their latest Sky Bet Championship fixture on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).
Derby will return to action at Pride Park Stadium looking to get their first points of the 2020/21 season on the board, after starting the new campaign with back-to-back defeats against Reading and Luton Town.
The Rams were on track for a point at Luton last weekend, but a late goal for the hosts condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Kenilworth Road.
Cocu knows the importance of picking up points as soon as possible and says his players need to push more and harder, as well as being on the front-foot and creative, in order to register their first win of the season.
“It is always important to get points on the board because, like we said last season, if you win a few games you can play positive good football and we try to do that in every game,” Cocu told RamsTV.
“You have to combine that with good results as well. Two defeats in a row in the league means there is a little bit more pressure for the next game.
“We need to make sure we play on the front foot and keep being creative and create the same amount of opportunities that we did in our last game at Luton.
“That was a positive development, but we cannot sit down and relax. We have to push more and push harder to get a win. You must put up a fight every game in the Championship. We have to make sure the details are in our favour and we get a positive result.”
Blackburn will travel to Pride Park after picking up a win and a defeat from their opening two matches.
Goals have not been in short supply either, with ten scored in their first two league fixtures of the season.
A 3-2 loss at AFC Bournemouth on the opening day was followed by a 5-0 trouncing of newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers at Ewood Park last Saturday.
“Blackburn are also a team who like to have the ball,” Cocu said when discussing this weekend’s opponents. “They will be a tough team to beat.
“I expect this game will be a little bit more open than the game against Luton, their playing style is a little bit different.
“I am looking forward to playing the game. It won’t be easy but we also know we need a result after two defeats to give a boost to the team and the players to go forward.”
