3/1 To Win
Derby County are back on the road on Saturday when they make the journey north to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
dcfc.co.uk has gathered all the information you need to know ahead of the Sky Bet Championship match (3pm kick-off).
TICKET NEWS…
Derby's allocation of tickets for this weekend's match have sold out.
Derby were handed a total allocation of 2,131 tickets for the game and these have now completely sold out.
Those fans without a ticket are advised not to make the journey north, as they will be unable to gain access to the stadium.
TEAM NEWS…
Defender Richard Stearman will serve his second game of a three-match suspension following his red card in Derby's 2-0 defeat at Huddersfield Town at the start of the month, so Lee Buchanan is set to start alongside Curtis Davies at the heart of the defence once again.
Midfielder Ravel Morrison, who has been away on international duty with Jamaica for their recent 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, is now back with the Rams and available for selection after serving a three-match ban for his red card in the 2-1 loss at Nottingham Forest.
Kamil Jozwiak will again miss out with an ankle injury sustained in the 2-2 draw at home to Birmingham City at the end of January. The Poland international winger is expected to be out of action for several weeks.
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards will miss his third game in a row after suffering a calf injury in training last week and is likely to be out of action until the end of the month.
Festy Ebosele is rated as 50/50 for the clash at the Riverside Stadium with a minor hamstring issue and Rooney will make a late call on the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international's fitness.
MANAGER'S THOUGHTS…
Manager Wayne Rooney offered his pre-match views to RamsTV and he said: “I thought we were excellent on Tuesday and the way we performed had a bit of everything in it; three good goals and a much needed three points.
“We can take the confidence from that into tomorrow, as we know it’s going to be a tough one.
“Middlesbrough have got a really good manager and a good group of players, so we know what we’re up against.
“We have worked hard in our preparation over the last couple of days to make sure we are right.”
He added: “You can see what a great job Chris Wilder has done since he’s been in there.
“They are aggressive, they get the ball and are quite expansive and a difficult team to play against. It’s a challenge for us, but we have prepared well and we believe that if we go there and play the way we can, we will cause them problems.”
FROM THE DRESSING ROOM…
Defender Lee Buchanan spoke to RamsTV at Moor Farm Training Ground as the Rams prepare to face Chris Wilder's side at the Riverside Stadium.
“We just have to keep playing like we have been,” he said.
“The way the gaffer wants us to play, if we keep doing that and stick to the way we know we can, we are confident that we can cause every team in this division a problem.
“It will
be a tough game on Saturday but we know that if we go there, play as
well as we can with the confidence that we’ve got from the last few
games, then we can get a positive result.”
MATCH OFFICIALS…
Mike Dean will oversee Saturday afternoon's game.
Dean has overseen 17 games so far this season in all competitions, showing 55 yellow cards and one red card.
The
Premier League official oversaw the Rams' thrilling 3-3 draw at home to
Sheffield Wednesday on the final day of the 2020/21 season.
He will be assisted by Edward Smart and Daniel Robathan on the lines, whilst Carl Boyeson 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
