Derby County travel to Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night as they hope to improve on a run of form that has seen them lose four of their last five in the league.

Huddersfield will be looking to make it back-to-back wins after an impressive display away to Swansea City.

Match preview

Derby County's Wayne Rooney pictured after scoring against Reading on June 27, 2020 © Reuters

Despite Wayne Rooney's best efforts, Watford were able to inflict a fifth consecutive home defeat upon Derby as Joao Pedro's goal was enough to snatch all three points.

In a game that lacked moments of inspiration, Derby fell short in many departments and were not able to emulate the flowing football that has come to be expected from this Derby side.

Phillip Cocu will be feeling increasing pressure as his side now sit 21st in the Championship table.

To add to Cocu's concerns, the Rams now face a string of tough fixtures, which include a rejuvenated Nottingham Forest side under Chris Hughton and a strong Bournemouth outfit.

Derby County manager Phillip Cocu pictured on October 16, 2020 © Reuters

In a week where Huddersfield fans will have been more worried about their club's financial situation than form on the pitch, the win at Swansea will have been a welcome distraction.

The club have seen many players leave for handsome fees in the transfer window, and when a deal for Rolando Aarons fell through last week, fans were left understandably frustrated.

All being said, Danny Cowley will have enjoyed the character shown by his team to come from behind to win and will be looking to take that momentum into this midweek fixture.

Unbeaten in their last three, Huddersfield will be looking to make the most of their home advantage to make it three wins in four, helping them climb into the top half of the table.

Huddersfield Town Championship form: LLWDW
Huddersfield Town form (all competitions): LLLWDW

Derby County Championship form: LWLLL
Derby County form (all competitions): LWLLLL

Team News

Derby manager Phillip Cocu on February 8, 2020 © Reuters

Lewis O'Brien impressed after coming on for Juninho Bacuna and may well take his place in a three-man central midfield.

Otherwise, Cowley will likely look to the same lineup with Isaac Mbenza and Josh Koroma leading the line after showing their growing synergy in the weekend's away win.

Cocu may choose to select Tom Lawrence after he was able to come through a substitute appearance against Watford unscathed.

Wayne Rooney will undergo an urgent COVID-19 test after he visited an unknowingly infected friend.

Derby may also look to hand starts to Jahmal Hector-Ingram and Morgan Whittaker in a bid to maintain first-team freshness ahead of a gruelling schedule.

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Pipa, Stearman, Sarr, Toffolo; Eiting, Hogg; Mbenza, O'Brien, Koroma; Campbell

Derby County possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Byrne, Clarke, Davies, Buchanan; Rooney, Bird; Knight, Lawrence, Jozwiak; Marriott

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We say: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Derby County

Having started to string results together, Town look the more convincing of the two teams at present. We expect a close game, but in a fixture where Derby could be without captain Wayne Rooney, we see Huddersfield shading it to seal their second home win of the season.

Top betting tip

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Huddersfield Town win with a probability of 38.36%. A win for Derby County had a probability of 33.87% and a draw had a probability of 27.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Huddersfield Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.45%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.09%) and 2-0 (7.07%). The likeliest Derby County win was 0-1 (10.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.08%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Huddersfield Town in this match.