Date: Saturday 8th November
Venue: Ipro Stadium
Kick off: 12:15pm
Two promotion contenders Derby County and Wolves meet at the Ipro stadium on Saturday lunchtime, with both sides having the top two places in their sights. Derby can go top with a win, whilst visitors Wolves will be looking to climb into the top three by taking home three points.
Following Tuesday nights defeat at Ipswich, Wolves face another tough test on the road this time to fourth place Derby. Kenny Jackett’s side were left to ponder two costly errors which let Daryl Murphy fire Ipswich to a 2-1 win. James Henry did get Wolves back on level terms in the second half but another defensive mistake got punished and allowed Mick McCarthy a second win against his old side. The defeat was Wolves’ first in six league games and raised questions over the consistency of the side as they have only managed two wins on the road all season. However Wolves have also managed four draws on the road this season so are evidently a hard team to beat.
Saturday’s trip to Derby could be Wolves’ hardest game yet and Kenny Jackett has numerous decisions to make regarding his team selection. Midfielder David Edwards came off in the defeat to Ipswich with a knee ligament injury and is suspected to be out for a number of weeks. Nouha Dicko is also out of the game following a hamstring injury. Left back Scott Golbourne is also out with a foot injury. Manager Jackett has a dilemma regarding selection with Leon Clarke, Michael Jacobs and Liam Mcalinden all looking to replace the absentees Edwards and Dicko.
Steve Mclaren’s Derby head into the game at the Ipro on the back of a home victory against Huddersfield. The 3-2 win on Tuesday night put an end to a small blip in form following two defeats in a row before that victory. After that victory the Rams are only one point off top of the league Bournemouth, and would return to the summit with a win over Wolves due to the match being an early kick off. However Mclaren will be aware that his sides current form has been under par as his side have only managed one win in their last five outings with defeats against Wigan and Brentford denting their momentum in the promotion push.
As for team news Mclaren could name an unchanged side that beat Huddersfield on Tuesday due to Derby having no fresh injury concerns. However the former England boss does have the decision of whether to start Simon Dawkins and Jonny Russell as they both scored in the win on Tuesday.
Danger Men:
Derby County:
Chris Martin
Martin is the Championship’s joint leading top scorer with 10 goals and will take some stopping if he is not to get on the score sheet. The striker may also fancy his chances of finding the back of the net against a Wolves defence who have become increasingly shaky at the back.
Wolves:
Bakary Sako
Sako was nominated for Octobers player of the month after scoring in every game that month, and he will be the man that Derby will be looking to keep quiet to prevent Wolves from creating chances.
Match Stats:
- The last meeting between the two sides ended in a goalless draw at Pride Park.
- Wolves have won four of their last six games away at Derby.
- Derby have won 35 of the 67 meetings between the sides at the Ipro Stadium.
- Chris Martin has scored five goals in his last six games for Derby.
Match odds: Via Sky Bet
Match result – Derby win – 21/20 Draw – 5/2 Wolves win – 5/2
Wolves to win 1-2 – 11/1
Draw 2-2 – 12/1
Derby to win 2-1 – 15/2
First goalscorer:
Bakary Sako – 13/2
James Henry – 12/1
Chris Martin – 4/1
Ways to follow the match:
@OfficialWolves and @TimNash_star will provide live updates on the match.
The match will be live on Sky Sports 1 with coverage starting at 12pm.
You can also follow the match live on BBC WM 96.5 FM.
Stu Hawk – @hawkster98
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