Derby County’s Under-23s are back in Premier League Cup action on Monday afternoon when they conclude their Group C campaign with a trip to the Select Car Leasing Stadium to face Reading.
dcfc.co.uk has brought together all the key information you will need to know ahead of the game (1pm kick-off)
Premier League Cup Format...
Mirroring the format of the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League Cup consists of eight four-team groups, with each club playing their opposing teams both home and away.
It's the first Premier League Cup campaign since 2019/20, when the competition was curtailed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it includes Academies from Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Clubs in the third and fourth categories have been competing in qualifiers to join the top-level Academies in the group stage.
Derby County are in Group C alongside Charlton Athletic, Norwich City and Reading and the full fixture list can be found here.
Team News...
With a number of Under-23s players, such as skipper Eiran Cashin, defender Max Bardell and striker Jack Stretton, with the first team squad, and Isaac Hutchinson joining Crawley Town on loan last week, it could mean Pat Lyons has a youthful side in action once again.
Winger Tyree Wilson is back in training after suffering a significant knee injury back in August and made his first appearance in six months in the Under-23s' 5-0 loss against Manchester City last time out.
Centre-back Harrison Solomon, who recently returned from a knee issue, injured his hamstring in the warm-up ahead of the Manchester City game and is a doubt.
Midfielder Connor Dixon is still out of action with an ankle injury which has sidelined him for a number of weeks, while right-back Kornell McDonald has a calf issue.
Pre-Match Views - Coaching Staff...
Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Pat Lyons spoke to RamsTV to preview the clash against the Royals - and the interview can be viewed in full below.
Pre-Match Views - Playing Squad...
Winger Tyree Wilson, back from a lengthy spell out injured, spoke to RamsTV to preview the trip south- and the interview can be viewed in full below.
The Premier League Cup So Far...
Derby County’s Under-23s are already through to the knock-out stages of the Premier League Cup as winners of Group C.
Derby sit top of Group C with 13 points out of 15 following an impressive run in the competition.
A 3-3 draw at Norwich earlier in the season got this season’s competition up and running in September.
That point on the road was followed up with 2-1 home wins over Charlton Athletic and Reading in October and November.
A 5-2 success at home to Norwich before Christmas confirmed qualification to the latter stages of the competition, with midfielder Louie Sibley scoring a hat-trick in a thrilling encounter.
Top spot in Group C was confirmed in January as Pat Lyons' side picked up all three points in a 2-1 victory at Charlton Athletic.
Reading, meanwhile, are bottom of Group C with one win and four defeats from their five matches and cannot reach the knock-out stages.
Live Stream...
RamsTV will be streaming the game live for supporters to watch online.
In a change to the previous offering to supporters, this is available to Derby County Membership Holders and RamsTV subscribers.
Membership Holders will be sent a code to redeem to watch this season’s matches, while RamsTV subscribers simply need to log-in to their account.
Derby County Membership packages can be found here: membership.dcfc.co.uk/home and any queries should be sent to [email protected].
RamsTV subscription options can be found here: dcfc.co.uk/page/ramstv-live-streaming and any queries should be sent to [email protected].
