Derby County will bring the curtain down on their 14-year stay in the Championship with a home game against Cardiff City.

The Rams – who have been deducted 21 points this season – are already relegated, while the Bluebirds sit 18th in the table.

Match preview

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Derby have spent almost the entire campaign in administration, with the future of the club constantly up in the air while Wayne Rooney's side fought against relegation.

Without their deduction, the Rams would have avoided the drop comfortably and be sat 17th in the table; a remarkable achievement considering their squad is mostly made up of academy graduates and ageing veterans.

There does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel off the pitch, with preferred bidder Chris Kirchner hopeful of completing his takeover in the coming days.

On the pitch, the Rams are aiming to end the season on a high and won 2-0 against Blackpool last weekend thanks to first senior goals for Malcolm Ebiowei and Eiran Cashin.

Derby have not won back-to-back games in 2022, but have taken 10 points from the last 15 available at home and have only suffered four defeats at Pride Park all season.

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Cardiff can finish no higher than 17th in the table, guaranteeing the club's lowest placing since they were promoted from the third tier 19 years ago.

The Bluebirds were involved in the relegation scrap themselves in the first half of the campaign, but had steered themselves away from any danger by mid-February.

Steve Morison's side are ending the season with a whimper – their 1-1 draw against Birmingham City last weekend ended a run of four consecutive defeats. It is the club's worst run of form since the eight defeats in a row that cost Mick McCarthy his job in October.

The Welsh outfit have suffered three straight defeats on the road, but are unbeaten in their last five meetings against Derby.

Uche Ikpeazu scored the only goal of the game in the 85th minute as Cardiff won 1-0 in this season's reverse fixture in South Wales in March.

Team News

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Derby will be able to welcome back captain Tom Lawrence for the final day of the season following the Welsh international's two-match suspension.

Midfielder Krystian Bielik is also in contention to return for the Rams after missing the last two games with a groin injury.

Thirty-seven-year-old Curtis Davies has played every minute in the Championship this season and was named Derby's player of the year this week.

As he continues to plan for next season, Cardiff boss Steve Morison may leave out loanees Tommy Doyle and Jordan Hugill from his team.

Nineteen-year-old Eli King was handed only a second league start last weekend and could feature again, while fellow academy graduate Rubin Colwill may also play from the off.

Left-back Joel Bagan has missed the last two games through injury so is a doubt, while on the other side of defence, 18-year-old Jai Semenyo will hope to earn a debut after being named in the matchday squad in Bagan's absence.

Derby County possible starting lineup:
Roos; Byrne, Davies, Cashin, Forsyth; Bird, Watson; Ebiowei, Morrison, Knight; Cybulski

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Phillips; Drameh, McGuinness, Nelson, Denham, Ng; Wintle, Vaulks, Colwill; Harris, Watters

We say: Derby County 1-0 Cardiff City

Derby may be dropping out of the Championship, but Rooney and his players are doing so with plenty of pride and we think the Rams will end on a high with victory on home turf. Only Barnsley are on worse form than Cardiff and the Bluebirds are unlikely to put up much of a fight.

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