Derby County will return to Sky Bet Championship action following the first
international break of the season at Birmingham City on Friday night.
dcfc.co.uk has gathered all the information you need to know ahead of the game (8pm kick-off).
TICKET NEWS…
Derby's allocation of 1,000 tickets for the game have sold out.
Tickets went on sale to Membership Holders with priority access on away tickets last week, before going on sale to 2021/22 Season Ticket Holders last weekend.
The final tickets were sold on Monday afternoon and supporters without a ticket are advised not to travel to St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium, as they will be unable to gain access.
2021/22 Memberships
Membership packages for Derby County’s 2021/22 season, where you can be first in line to purchase away tickets, are on sale now.
Memberships can be purchased here: membership.dcfc.co.uk/home.
Concessions
Proof of age may be required on entry for any concessionary tickets.
Refund Policy
Match ticket refunds are not available for this game from Derby County.
Ticket Office Contact
The Ticket Office counters will remain closed, with phone lines open between 10am-4pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Supporters with any match ticket related enquiries are advised to email [email protected]. Disabled supporters with any enquires are recommended to email [email protected].
TEAM NEWS…
Striker Sam Baldock is likely to return to the matchday squad after missing Derby's 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest prior to the two-week international break with a minor hamstring issue. The experienced frontman returned to training this week and provides manager Wayne Rooney with another attacking option to call upon.
Midfielder Jason Knight is back in training after missing the first month of the season with an ankle injury sustained in pre-season. The Republic of Ireland international is set to return to the matchday squad and Rooney has indicated he is likely to be on the bench at Birmingham.
Polish international winger Kamil Jozwiak won't feature for Derby against Lee Bowyer's side, after featuring for Poland in their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against England on Wednesday night. Given he was playing only 48 hours before the Rams' trip across the Midlands, and had to fly back from his homeland after the final whistle, Rooney has decided against including him in the squad.
Captain Tom Lawrence had to have a pain-killing injection in his groin to feature in the draw against Forest. After having time to allow the injury to settle during the international break, he has had no reaction and has been training as normal this week.
Defender Craig Forsyth will begin a three-match ban after the Football Association deemed a challenge he made in the 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest to be an act of violent conduct, so Lee Buchanan is in line to come in at left-back.
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards remains a long-term absentee with an achilles injury sustained last month and he will be out of action for a significant period of time.
Polish
international midfielder Krystian Bielik, who suffered an ACL knee
injury in January of this year, is making good progress in his rehabilitation work
but is still not yet in a position to return to full training.
MANAGER'S THOUGHTS…
Manager Wayne Rooney offered his pre-match views to RamsTV on Wednesday and said: “I think it will be a tough game; they are hard to break down and defend really well.
“They are quite aggressive when they attack and go direct. They try and play a little bit as well, so we know it won’t be easy.
“Every game is tough in the Championship so we will have to go there prepared, try and play our way and do all we can to get a positive result.”
On last season’s trip to the West Midlands, Rooney added: “They are a different team to what they were back then, as we are, so we are expecting a very tough game so we will have to make sure we prepare well and be ready to do everything to get three points.”PRE-MATCH PRESS CONFERENCE…
Manager Wayne Rooney staged his pre-match news conference with the local and national media on Wednesday afternoon from Moor Farm Training Ground.
MATCH OFFICIALS…
Gavin Ward will oversee Friday's game across the Midlands.
Ward has taken charge of five games during the 2021/22 season to date, producing a total of 24 yellow cards and two red cards.
He
oversaw Derby's 2-0 home win over Swansea City during the 2020/21
season, with Colin Kazim-Richards and Kamil Jozwiak on target for the
Rams.
Ward will be assisted by Andrew Fox and Craig Taylor on the lines, whilst Thomas Bramall has been appointed as the fourth official.
EFL SUBSTITUTE RULES…
The five substitutions rule has been scrapped for the 2021/22 season, the English Football League confirmed in July.
The rule allowing clubs to make five changes, as opposed to the usual three, was brought in following football's restart in June 2020 after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given that games had to be condensed into a short period of time it was thought beneficial and allowed managers to make as many as five changes in three intervals during a match.
Clubs had a longer post-break between seasons this time around and so the temporary rule has been changed.
Teams will be able to name seven substitutes but only use a maximum of three.
STREAMING INFORMATION…
With
COVID-19 capacity restrictions lifted and EFL fixtures being played in
front of full crowds once again, the temporary change in streaming rules
is no longer valid.
If you can't make the game in person, other options to catch up with the action on the pitch – including live TV, live radio, streaming of selected matches alongside highlights on TV and online of every Sky Bet EFL game.
LIVE TV (DOMESTIC)
In the UK, Sky Sports will show 138 Sky Bet EFL matches, 15 Carabao Cup ties and the Semi Finals and Final of the Papa John’s Trophy.
In the case of Weekend Fixtures, the EFL’s designated kick-off times* for Sky Live Matches are usually scheduled as follows:
* Friday evenings at 7:45pm or 8pm
* Saturdays at 12:30pm; Sundays at 12-noon
Within the Sky contract there are other kick-off times that are available to the broadcaster
In the case of scheduled Midweek Matches, live Sky fixtures will be between 7:30pm and 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
RADIO
TalkSPORT offer exclusive live commentaries on national radio across the Sky Bet EFL as well as non-exclusive rights to the Carabao Cup that are shared by the BBC.Both TalkSPORT and the BBC have the ability to broadcast score flash updates across all competitions.BBC Local Radio also have individual commentary deals with selected EFL clubs.
LIVE TV (INTERNATIONAL)
Any match shown live on Sky Sports in the UK is made available overseas via the League’s international broadcast partners.As well as this fixture, a minimum of 36 Championship fixtures taking place on Saturdays at 3pm, will be distributed for international coverage, alongside selected League One and Two fixtures, Carabao Cup ties, and action from across the Sky Bet Play-Offs.
A full list of the EFL’s international broadcast partners are available here:efl.com/iFollow/international-broadcasters/
HIGHLIGHTS
In the UK, Quest will continue to be the home for all highlights of matches in the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy, with action from a full weekend schedule of matches broadcast at 9pm on Saturdays, and midweek League highlights and Carabao Cup midweek highlights also screened on applicable weeknights. Internationally, a number of the EFL’s broadcast partners show repeat transmissions and highlights.
STREAMING
In respect of domestic streaming, the EFL will return to the position as was prior to the pandemic when the live broadcast or streaming of any match in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is prohibited between the hours of 2:45pm-5:15pm on Saturday afternoons.
EFL clubs will have the right to live-stream midweek matches on iFollow or Club equivalent service, with Sky Sports also able to stream the same Championship fixtures to subscribers across their Red Button interactive and digital services.
The position in each Sky Bet EFL division is as follows:
CHAMPIONSHIP - DOMESTIC
* All scheduled midweek matches (unless selected as one of Sky Sports Exclusive midweek selections)
* Displaced weekend matches – matches which are moved from Saturday 3pm kick-offs for non-TV purposes (at the discretion of the Home club)
* Bank Holiday matches (at the discretion of the Home club)
CHAMPIONSHIP - INTERNATIONAL
Overseas supporters can watch live all EFL Championship league games provided that they have not been selected for international television broadcast in a territory that has an overseas broadcast partner
