Derby County know that victory against Blackburn Rovers tomorrow night will move them up into the Championship's automatic promotion places.

The Rams are three points behind league leaders Bournemouth in fifth, but are the only side in the top eight yet to play their 27th game of the season.

That is because they were in FA Cup fourth-round action on Saturday and booked their place in the last 16 with a 2-0 victory over nearby Chesterfield.

The Rams will find out their fifth-round opponents later tonight, but victory over the Spireites did come at a cost with Johnny Russell picking up a hamstring injury that could rule him out for several weeks.

Simon Dawkins is likely to come in, or Steve McClaren could shake up his league formation to accommodate Darren Bent, who scored Derby's opener against Chesterfield on Saturday.

The Rams have won five of their last six games in all competitions, but did suffer a crushing defeat in their last league game when bitter East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest snatched a last-gasp winner.

Like Derby, Blackburn are through to the last 16 of the FA Cup following their 3-1 win over nine-man Premier League side Swansea City on Saturday lunchtime.

They might be going well in the Cup, but Blackburn have struggled of late in the league with just one win in eight games to drop to 10th in the table and 11 points adrift of the playoff places.

First-choice strikers Rudy Gestede and Jordan Rhodes both started on the bench against Swansea, and Rovers boss Gary Bowyer has admitted that both players could leave the club this month.

If either is unsettled at the iPro Stadium tomorrow, Joshua King could start up front, while Bowyer will definitely be without David Dunn because of a calf injury.

Derby have lost just one of their last seven home matches against Blackburn, who have only kept one clean sheet on the road this season.

The reverse fixture was a five-goal game at Ewood Park that Derby edged 3-2 in September.

Derby:

Form in Championship: LDWWWL
Form in all competitions: WWWWLW

Possible starting lineup: Grant; Christie, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth; Bryson, Hendrick, Hughes; Ward, Martin, Dawkins

Blackburn:

Form in Championship: LWLDLD
Form in all competitions: LDWLDW

Possible starting lineup: Steele; Lowe, Hanley, Kilgallon, Olsson; Conway, Evans, Cairney, Marshall; Rhodes, Gestede

Sports Mole says: 2-1