Derby County return to Pride Park this Wednesday as they look to extend their unbeaten run to four games as they take on an inconsistent Swansea side who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the weekend.
The last time these two sides faced off was April 2022, when a Joel Piroe brace was enough to see the Swans defeat the Rams at Pride Park in Derby’s eventual relegation season.
Both teams have ambitions of climbing up the table this week, but who will get the all-important three points?
Derby County
League Position- 11th
Form- DDLWDD
Top Scorer- Jerry Yates (4)
After gaining automatic promotion from League One last season, the Rams have started the campaign well, comfortably over-performing the standard that many neutrals believed they would be at before the season began.
They currently sit 14th in the Championship table and a win could see them climb into the top half this Wednesday but it will not be an easy test for the Rams.
Paul Warne’s side come into this game after back-to-back 1-1 draws against Plymouth and Preston respectively, with many fans believing they need to win close games like them to ensure they are not relegated this season.
With the Rams not having a win at home since October 6th, it would be a massive morale boost to pick up the win this Wednesday.
Team News
The big miss for Derby this week is they will be without their top scorer Jerry Yates.
This is due to him being on loan from the visiting side, therefore meaning he is ineligible for this fixture. A huge loss for the Rams who’s other striker options have struggled this season.
David Ozoh and Ryan Nyambe will continue to be missing in action as their injuries will keep them sidelined for a few more weeks.
Apart from that, they have no new injury concerns from the weekend and Warne will have a strong team to select from.
Player to Watch: Kenzo Goudmijn
In any other game, Jerry Yates would be the easy choice for this due to his fine form. However, his ineligibility for this game means we look to Goudmijn.
Goudmijn has been excellent for the Rams since his arrival from Excelsior during the summer transfer window, with the Dutchman starting 14 of their 16 games so far in the Championship.
Goudmijn is a midfield maestro for the Rams, playing mainly as an attacking midfielder. He has managed two goals already this season and is on the search for more.
If Swansea are going to dominate the game in the way that they normally do, they will need to find a way to neutralise Goudmijn to avoid the Dutchman gaining control of the midfield areas.
Swansea City
League Position- 15th
Form- DLWWLL
Top Scorer- Liam Cullen (3)
After their fair share of troubles throughout the 2023/24 season, the Swans were hoping for a much better year this time around.
Despite sitting 15th, they have shown a lot of promise in recent weeks and a win would propel them up the table and towards a playoff spot.
They suffered a gut-wrenching defeat to Leeds last weekend, where a 90th-minute Florian Bianchini equaliser was cancelled out seconds later by a Willy Gnonto goal to end the match with a 4-3 defeat for Luke Williams’ side.
However, they will look to regain the form after they faced tough opponents in Leeds and Burnley before the international break.
Team News
Bar the injuries Williams was already faced with, there are no new injury concerns after their Leeds defeat for the Swans.
This week’s game will come too early for Eom Ji-Sung, who is very close to returning from a long-term knee injury he suffered whilst on international duty with South Korea.
Ollie Cooper and Josh Ginnelly both also remain out as they are still suffering with their injury issues.
The Swans will likely make multiple changes from their Leeds defeat on Sunday as they look to keep the squad fresh this week.
Player to Watch: Liam Cullen
After grabbing two goals and two assists for Wales against Iceland during the international break and scoring again against Leeds, Liam Cullen is in the form of his life.
The striker looks to have finally found his shooting boots after a slow start to the campaign, a huge boost for a Swansea side who have struggled all season with scoring goals.
If Cullen can continue his fine form, he will be a massive issue for the Rams to try to contain throughout this fixture.
He is already the Swans’ top-scorer this season so far, and they need him to keep this form so they can prove to be competitive this season.
Match Details
This game between the Rams and Swans will take place at 20:00pm on Wednesday 27th November at Pride Park.
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports for all fans to view as the main event of the evening.
It will definitely be an interesting game between two solid sides in the Championship this season, with the winner having a chance to climb up into the top half of the table.