Plymouth Argyle will be looking to record back-to-back wins to start March on a positive note when they host playoff-hopefuls Derby County on Tuesday night at Home Park in League One.

The Pilgrims were victorious over Charlton Athletic on the weekend in front of their home faithful, whereas Derby were held at home by Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

Match preview

Plymouth's 12-year absence from the second tier of English football looks set to come to an end this year after a sensational League One campaign to date - although the job is far from done just yet.

The Pilgrims currently sit second in the league standings, with a resurgent Ipswich Town just five points behind in third after their impressive 4-0 success over Burton Albion on Saturday - the Tractor Boys being amongst a host of big clubs that will chase down the automatic spots to the very end.

After securing their passage to the EFL Trophy final next month courtesy of a penalty-shootout victory over Cheltenham Town nearly a fortnight ago, Steven Schumacher's men turned their attention to a trip to Peterborough United, with that matchup ending in a 5-2 defeat.

However, the Green Army responded on Saturday by easing past a struggling Addicks side at Home Park, with Ryan Hardie and Callum Wright netting either side of the half-time interval to earn Plymouth their 15th home win of this season - a remarkable feat considering they have only played 17.

Schumacher's side would complete the double over their visitors if they were victorious on Tuesday night - the reverse fixture back in September saw Sam Cosgrove's 90th-minute winner secure a dramatic 3-2 win at Pride Park for Plymouth.

Derby have endured an inconsistent start to 2023 as they aim to return to the Championship for the first time of asking after relegation last season, with County fans realising the difficulty of escaping the third tier of English football.

The Rams enjoyed a sensational 15-game unbeaten run in League One spanning from October to their 5-0 demolition of Morecambe in early February, but since then Derby have won just two of their last six matches in the league.

Saturday afternoon saw Paul Warne's men squander a 2-0 lead at home to Shrewsbury, with second-half goals from Tom Bayliss and Luke Leahy for the Shrews forcing Derby to share the spoils at Pride Park.

Warne's side hold a healthy seven-point advantage over seventh-placed Wycombe Wanderers in the league table, meaning their playoff berth appears relatively secure, although the top-two positions they were eyeing up at the beginning of the campaign are a sizeable 10 points away.

Derby have really struggled to earn regular results away from Pride Park in League One, with County winning just five of their 16 third-tier away matches so far this season - a ratio that will need to improve in order to close in on the top two.

Team News

Plymouth are set to be without the services of Adam Randell for a couple of weeks after the midfielder suffered an ankle injury in the middle of February, meaning that the player's participation in the EFL Trophy final next month is in doubt.

Dan Scarr could be in the matchday squad on Tuesday night for the first time since the loss at Sheffield Wednesday last month, with the defender training on Thursday following a foot injury.

Tyreik Wright has missed Argyle's last two matches with a calf strain and is likely to miss this clash with the Rams on Tuesday night, with a date for his return to action not yet confirmed.

Derby could be without centre-back Eiran Cashin in this one after the Irishman was involved in a heavy collision with Shrewsbury player Killian Phillips on Saturday - Curtis Davies could come into the side to replace the 21-year-old.

James Chester and Max Bird could be involved at Pride Park against Plymouth on Tuesday as the duo recover from their calf and groin injuries respectively, although County boss Warne is exercising caution on their returns to competitive action.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Burton; Wilson, Gillesphey, Galloway; Edwards, Houghton, Butcher, Mumba; Azaz, Mayor, Hardie

Derby County possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Rooney, Forsyth, Cashin, Roberts; Smith, Hourihane, Dobbin, Knight, White; McGoldrick

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Derby County

Plymouth bounced back from a humiliating defeat at Peterborough by beating Charlton on Saturday, and they will realise three points against Derby in this one would go in a long way in securing their position in the top two.

The Rams need to find some consistency if they are to challenge the likes of the Pilgrims and Ipswich for a top-two berth, but we see Warne's men narrowly losing out on Tuesday night.


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