Aiming to continue their stellar start to the campaign at Pride Park, Derby County will welcome an unbeaten Bristol City side to the East Midlands for a Championship clash on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams will be looking to return to winning ways following cup disappointment on Tuesday night, whilst the Robins travel to Derby striving to maintain their invincible status in the second tier so far.
Match preview
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Derby County are back at their Pride Park base this weekend following consecutive away defeats over the past week across the Championship and the EFL Cup, with the East Midlanders having now lost all three of their competitive away games since the start of the 2024-25 schedule.
Vicarage Road was the destination last weekend in the second tier, and despite Ebou Adams netting his first-ever goal in the Championship to put the visiting Rams ahead, Tom Cleverley's Watford fought back courtesy of strikes from Vakoun Bayo and ex-Tottenham Hotspur star Moussa Sissoko to secure maximum points.
Paul Warne's troops took their second and ultimately-final step towards an unlikely EFL Cup triumph on Tuesday night, when a much-changed Derby side exited the competition at the hands of League Two Barrow on penalties, with James Collins, Kayden Jackson and Craig Forsyth all failing to hold their nerve from 12 yards out.
Beating fourth-tier Chesterfield and Championship rivals Middlesbrough at Pride Park since the commencement of competitive action earlier this month, the Rams have shown their ability to make their home ground a fortress, a theme they will be desperate to continue against Bristol City on Saturday.
With Tom Barkhuizen failing to impress at Barrow on Tuesday night, there are growing concerns over whether Derby have the attacking power to mount a successful survival mission in the second tier, meaning that the addition of a high-class forward is a priority for Saturday's hosts ahead of Friday's transfer deadline.
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Heading into the final weekend of the Championship schedule before the September international break, Bristol City are one of nine clubs in the division who are still unbeaten after three matches, with a victory over Millwall sandwiched between draws against Hull City and Coventry City.
Failing to score in the previous two campaigns at club level, George Tanner put the Robins ahead versus the Sky Blues with a marvellous volley last weekend, although the hosts at Ashton Gate were unable to hold on for maximum points as substitute Kasey Palmer found the net late on for the Midlands side.
Yet to make his full Championship debut for the West Country outfit, Fally Mayulu leads his side's goalscoring ranks thanks to two goals during three substitute appearances, with the young Frenchman showcasing the finishing ability to suggest that he can fill the boots of last term's Golden Boot winner Tommy Conway, who recently moved to Middlesbrough.
The Robins have not been afraid to splash a considerable amount of cash on summer recruits so far this year, securing the services of Sinclair Armstrong from Queens Park Rangers for £2.6m, before last campaign's star loanee Scott Twine switched permanently from Burnley for £3.3m.
With a number of fitness concerns in his backline, Liam Manning is hopeful of bringing in at least one defensive reinforcement before thee shutting off the summer trading point, with Burnley centre-back Luke McNally reportedly set to follow in Twine's footsteps to Ashton Gate.
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Team News
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Suffering a concussion during the win over Middlesbrough on August 17, Eiran Cashin is yet to return to the Derby fold and could miss out again this weekend.
As a result, former Luton Town enforcer Sonny Bradley is set to partner Curtis Nelson at centre-back, with Callum Elder and Ryan Nyambe operating in the full-back roles.
Rested from the start during Tuesday's cup defeat at Barrow, Jackson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing will return to Derby's starting XI at Pride Park on Saturday.
Bristol City are sweating over the fitness of defender Rob Dickie, who was forced off in the second half against Coventry due to a hamstring injury.
The commanding centre-back could join Ross McCrorie in the medical room, where Rob Atkinson and summer arrival Yu Hirakawa are also currently based.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Zetterstrom; Nyambe, Nelson, Bradley, Elder; Ozoh, Adams, Goudmijn, Yates, Mendez-Laing; Jackson
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Naismith, Pring; Williams, Knight, Sykes, Bird, Twine; Armstrong
We say: Derby County 1-1 Bristol City
Derby have been impressive on home soil so far this season, but the Rams' lack of attacking firepower makes it hard to envisage them blowing Bristol City away this weekend.
The Robins have looked very competitive in each of their contests to date, and we believe that the visitors have enough quality to force a share of the spoils at Pride Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
