Two promotion hopefuls will commence battle when Derby County welcome Peterborough United to Pride Park for Monday's League One contest.
While both teams have 46 points to their name, third-placed Peterborough are currently sitting above the Rams on goals scored.
Match preview
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Since losing 3-1 to Stevenage at the end of October, Derby have embarked on an impressive run of form, winning eight of their last nine league matches to put themselves firmly in the promotion picture.
The Rams saw off a fellow promotion hopeful in their final outing of 2023, as they fought back from 2-1 down to beat Oxford United and claim a third consecutive victory in League One.
After conceding two goals in the opening 13 minutes, Derby staged a sensational comeback, with Craig Forsyth, Liam Thompson and Eiran Cashin all finding the net to clinch maximum points.
While Derby are sitting just two points adrift of the automatic promotion places, they can ill-afford to rest on their laurels if they are to end their two-season stay in the third tier.
With the Rams targeting another victory, they can draw inspiration from the fact that they came from behind to beat Peterborough 4-2 at the Weston Homes Stadium in August.
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Like their hosts, the Posh have also proven to be a tough team to beat in recent times, having avoided defeat in each of their last eight matches in League One (W5, D3).
Despite enjoying a fine run of form, Peterborough had to be content with taking a point from both of their last two fixtures against Reading and Barnsley.
After playing out a 2-2 draw with the Royals, Darren Ferguson's side repeated the scoreline in Friday's clash with Barnsley, where they fought back from two goals down thanks to a Jonson Clarke-Harris brace.
With their last two matches taking place on home turf, Peterborough will now head on their travels for their first match of 2024, and the visitors will have the chance to record a third consecutive away win after beating Shrewsbury Town and Fleetwood Town in their previous two road trips.
While Derby may possess the second-best defensive record in the division, Peterborough will believe that they have the firepower to trouble their opponents, having scored 47 goals league goals this season – more than any other team in the third tier.
Team News
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Derby boss Paul Warne is still having to cope without the injured trio of Jake Rooney, Korey Smith and Conor Washington.
Martyn Waghorn scored a hat-trick to fire Derby to victory in the reverse fixture, but the forward is expected to miss Monday's home clash with a calf injury which has kept him out of the last five matches.
After making an impact in Friday's substitute appearance, Thompson could be given the opportunity to start against Peterborough.
As for the Posh, they could be forced into a change of goalkeeper after Nicholas Bilokapic was forced off in the first half against Barnsley.
Fynn Talley replaced Bilokapic to make his first league appearance, and he is now set to be given the chance to feature in the starting lineup.
Ferguson could be tempted to freshen up his side, with Hector Kyprianou and Kwame Poku pushing for recalls after dropping down to the bench on Friday.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Nyambe, Nelson, Cashin, Forsyth; Barkhuizen, Bird, Thompson, Hourihane, Mendez-Laing; Collins
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bilokapic; Kioso, Knight, Edwards, Burrows; Kyprianou, Collins; Ajiboye, Randall, Mason-Clark; Clarke-Harris
We say: Derby County 2-1 Peterborough United
With both teams sitting level on 46 points, we expect Monday's contest to be a close-fought affair, but we think that Derby may do just enough to claim the spoils after winning five of their last six home league games.
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