Derby County host Port Vale on Saturday afternoon looking to get their automatic promotion hopes back on track.
Paul Warne has been criticised for his style of football after Derby lost consecutive matches for the first time this season.
From a disappointing display at Barnsley to an abject defeat at home to Charlton Athletic, the Rams must now bounce back at home to a struggling Port Vale side.
The visitors are winless in their last 10 matches and occupy 22nd position, so while it is must-win territory for the Rams, their loss to Charlton suggests they shouldn’t take their opponents for granted.
Ahead of the match, Warne has plenty of injury concerns to contend with as Ryan Nyambe is the latest player to be added to the casualty list after limping off in the second half against the Addicks.
Tyreece John-Jules, who is currently undergoing rehab on a hamstring at Arsenal, is out along with five other first-team players, including Conor Washington, Jake Rooney, Craig Forsyth, Josh Vickers and top scorer James Collins.
With Warne expected to make a few changes from that disappointing defeat on Tuesday night, here’s how Derby could line up…
Derby County predicted XI v Port Vale
Joe Wildsmith’s rush of blood to give away a penalty against Charlton was one pivotal moment that cost Derby in the match and it wasn’t the first time this season that he’d made a fatal error. Despite this, he’ll keep his place in between the sticks as Vickers is still out injured.
With Nyambe nursing an injury, Kane Wilson could shuffle to right back and while he was poor on Tuesday night, he is still better in that position than Joe Ward.
In an ideal world, Warne would be able to play Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin as his central defenders, but injuries to Callum Elder and Craig Forsyth meant Cashin had to shuffle across to left-back against the Addicks with Sonny Bradley slotting alongside Nelson. That is expected to continue tomorrow afternoon.
As for the midfield three, the combative style of Ebou Adams has helped the Rams since his arrival and in the absence of Conor Hourihane, he’s likely to partner Max Bird and Korey Smith once more.
Warne will be hoping for a piece of individual brilliance from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the right flank while the “immense” Corey Blackett-Taylor, who faces a season-defining month, needs to prove his worth on the left after a frustrating start to his Derby career.
That destructive duo will aim to provide service to striker Dwight Gayle, who was starved of it on Tuesday night but did look promising when he touched the ball.
Derby County predicted lineup (4-3-3): Wildsmith; Wilson, Nelson, Bradley, Cashin; Adams, Smith, Bird; Mendez-Laing, Blackett-Taylor, Gayle.