Wayne Rooney's Derby County will be looking to make it three wins on the spin when they welcome Bristol City to Pride Park on Saturday. 

The Robins will also be looking to make it three wins in a row after picking up wins against Millwall and Huddersfield Town in the two previous games. 

Derby come into this game sitting in 21st position, whilst their opponents are in eighth, just three points outside of the Championship play-off places. 

A victory for both sides is crucial. Derby will be desperate for all three points to distance themselves from the relegation zone. Meanwhile, a victory for Dean Holden's side would close the gap on the top six. 

Team news

Derby will be without goalkeeper David Marshall and centre-back Curtis Davies as the pair remained sidelined through injury. Davies is set to be out for the rest of the season after his Achilles injury against Brentford

Tom Lawrence is nearing a return to first-team action for the Rams, but his lack of match fitness means that the Welshman will sit out of Saturday's game. 

Bristol City have six players sidelined through injury ahead of the game this weekend. Andreas Weimann, Steven Sessegnon, Jay Dasilva and Callum O'Dowda have all been struggling and won't feature for the Robins

Former Ram Jamie Paterson is also struggling with injury so will be unavailable to face his old side.

Predicted lineups

Derby County (3-4-3): 

Roos; Clarke, Wisdom, Evans, Byrne, Shinnie, Bielik, Buchanan, Jozwiak, Kazim-Richards, Knight.

Bristol City (4-4-2): 

Bentley; Hunt, Kalas, Mawson, Mariappa, Palmer, Nagy, Bakinson, Semenyo, Wells, Diedhiou. 

Ones to watch

Colin Kazim-Richards - Derby County

When Colin Kazim-Richards was signed on a free transfer, many Rams fans raised eyebrows at the signing and had already written the 34-year-old off. However, the experienced striker has been a shrewd addition for the club. In his 18 appearances, he has grabbed a respectable four goals but it is more than just the goals for Kazim-Richards. His hold up play and aerial ability allows him to be a focal point for Rooney's side and adds a different dimension to fellow striker Martyn Waghorn. If Derby play to his strengths this weekend, he could cause a real problem for the Bristol City backline. 

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Famara Diedhiou - Bristol City

The Senegalese striker is in the form of his life. After not being a starter for the first part of the season, Famara Diedhiou has forced his way into the Robins starting 11. The striker has bagged six goals in his last seven outings and picked up three man of the match awards in the process. Similar to Kazim-Richards, Didhiou is a man of strength and often bullies many of the defenders in the division and his ability to win aerial battles could be a problem for the Rams

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Previous meetings

The two sides last met back in November 2020 at Ashton Gate, with Bristol City defeating Derby 1-0 thanks to a goal by dangerman Diedhiou. Over the last five meetings, the Robins have won on three occasions with the Rams picking up just the one win all the way back in April 2019. The last meeting at Pride Park ended in a 2-1 victory for the side from Bristol after goals from Josh Brownhill and former Ram Weimann. 

Last time out...

 

How to watch

Due to the current national lockdown, no fans will be in attendance at Pride Park. This means the game is available on iFollow through Derby and Bristol City's respective club websites, with passes being priced at £10. 

The game kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday 30 January 2021.

 

 

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