Two in-form Championship teams who currently sit in the bottom half of the table will lock horns on Saturday afternoon, as basement club Derby County welcome Sheffield United to Pride Park.
The Rams have won their last two league games on home soil by 1-0 scorelines, while the Blades have claimed maximum points in each of their last three away matches.
Match preview
A slender 1-0 defeat away at Coventry City saw Derby knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend, though Wayne Rooney may feel that this result could be a blessing in disguise as they bid to avoid relegation from the Championship.
The Rams can now focus solely on reducing the 11-point gap to safety with 23 league games remaining, and given their recent upturn in form, Rooney and co will be confident of pulling off the great escape.
Derby have accumulated 10 points from their last 12 available, with three successive wins against Blackpool, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City followed by a dramatic 2-2 draw away at Reading, a game which they were trailing by two goals before strikes in the 86th minute and 91st minute helped salvage a point.
There is only one Championship team who have claimed more points than the Rams in the last four league matches and it just so happens to be Saturday's opponents Sheffield United, who have secured maximum points in this period.
Despite sitting at the foot of the table, the Rams have only conceded 24 goals in 25 league matches this term and they are the only team in the second tier yet to concede more than two goals in a single game this season.
However, the Rams have struggled defensively against Sheffield United in recent years, conceding in each of their last six meetings, including August's 2-1 EFL Cup loss and the 1-0 league defeat in September. The last time that Derby lost three successive games against the Blades was between 1991 and 1995.
After an unwanted 19-day break from competitive action, due to coronavirus-related postponements, Sheffield United began the new year with a 3-0 defeat away to Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round last weekend.
Goals either side of half time from Daniel Podence as well as a strike from Nelson Semedo condemned the Blades to their first defeat since Paul Heckingbottom took charge on a permanent basis.
Hopes of reaching the quarter-finals for a third successive year are now over, but Heckingbottom can now concentrate on steering the South Yorkshire outfit up the Championship standings and into playoff contention.
A run of four successive wins, prior to their FA Cup exit, against Reading, Bristol City, Reading and most notably Fulham, has seen the Blades climb to 13th in the table, eight points behind the top six.
Sheffield United have won each of their last three meetings against Derby, with all three at Bramhall Lane, but they have failed to win their last two at Pride Park.
Victory on Saturday against the Rams would see the Blades win five Championship games in a row for the first time since April 2009 under former boss Kevin Blackwell.
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
Team News
Derby are still without midfielder Krystian Bielik and left-back Lee Buchanan, who remain sidelined with knee injuries, while striker Sam Baldock has seen his contract with the club expire.
Experienced centre-backs Phil Jagielka and Curtis Davies will likely see their partnership in defence continue, with Nathan Byrne and Craig Forsyth operating as full-backs.
Goalkeeper Kelle Roos will be hoping to return between the sticks ahead of Ryan Allsop, while Graeme Shinnie could start in centre-midfield at the expense of Liam Thompson.
As for Sheffield United, Jack O'Connell, Robin Olsen, John Fleck and George Baldock are all set to miss out due to injury, while Enda Stevens, Oli McBurnie and John Egan are all doubtful.
Midfielder Sander Berge started his first game since August last Saturday, after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, but Heckingbottom may look to manage his minutes, so a place on the bench to begin with seems more likely for the Norwegian this weekend.
Morgan Gibbs-White was unable to face his parent club last weekend but the Wolves loanee will be in contention to start against Derby and could be joined in midfield by Oliver Norwood and Conor Hourihane.
Nineteen-year-old defender Kyron Gordon was handed just his third senior start against Wolves, but he is expected to drop out for Egan if the Irishman is fit to start.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Roos; Byrne, Jagielka, Davies, Forsyth; Bird, Shinnie; Morrison, Lawrence, Knight; Kazim-Richards
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Bogle, Basham, Egan, Robinson, Norrington-Davies; Hourihane, Norwood; Gibbs-White; McGoldrick, Brewster
We say: Derby County 1-1 Sheffield United
Both Derby and Sheffield United will be keen to brush aside their FA Cup exits and build on their positive momentum in the Championship with another three points this weekend.
However, as there is little to separate these two in-form sides, a score draw could be on the cards at Pride Park.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
