Derby County continue their push towards League One promotion this season, with Bristol Rovers their next opponent.
Ten games stand between Derby County and a potential return to the Championship through automatic promotion. The Rams sit third in the table, but still have the top two in their grasp if they earn results in the final weeks.
Clashes with Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth are on the horizon, but Paul Warne‘s side will need to earn the right for those games to be billed as big matches. To get there, there’s a few more teams to overcome.
The next of which is a trip to Bristol Rovers, a team that have been inconsistent this season but are more than capable of causing a shock. Some familiar faces from the past could haunt Derby, but will they overcome that to land another important three points?
Bristol Rovers vs Derby County preview
With such a big clash ahead, Derby County News spoke to Bristol Live’s Bristol Rovers reporter Dan Hargraves to discuss what to expect from the Gas. Matt Taylor’s side sit 11th in the table, some way off of both the playoffs and relegation.
Bristol Rovers tactics
Three wins in their last four has seen a bounce in their form, with a tinker to their system bringing about the change. “In terms of the defence, you can expect a back four,” Hargraves said. “They were playing with a back five for the first two-and-a-bit months of Matt Taylor’s reign and then almost famously, I guess, switched to a back four mid-game at Stevenage when they were 2-0 down and went on to win 3-2 and the games since, they’ve used a back four.
“How the rest of the team shapes up kind of varies, whether its a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, we can go into all the tactics but it kind of depends on factors regarding when they’ve got the ball, defending etcetera. But simply put, structurally wise, it’ll be a back four.”
Derby have had similar tweaks to their system in recent weeks, often opting between playing four or five defenders at the back.
Bristol Rovers absence
The home side will be without defender James Wilson though, following his straight red card against Leyton Orient for an off-the-ball incident.
The centre-back could be a huge miss for Bristol Rovers, forcing a change to the backline. Hargraves continued: “I think the biggest thing you get with James Wilson is experience, you know he’s 35, whereas Connor Taylor is 22 and Elkan Baggott is 21. So the experience he brings to that backline, which is probably where you need experience the most, especially having a 20-year-old goalkeeper as well with Jed [Ward].
“In terms of footballing ability I think Connor Taylor was always going to come in in any capacity probably for Baggott, had Wilson not picked up that red card, so it doesn’t change too much it just means that they risk being less organised.”
Key areas
The home form of Bristol Rovers this season is firmly mid-table, having taken 26 points from 17 games played at the Memorial Stadium. A win over Portsmouth in late December remains the biggest scalp taken at home, while Derby’s away form is the third-best in the division with 35 points earned from 18 fixtures on the road.
“Rovers do particularly well against the teams that actually want to try and play football as opposed to the big, physical battles,” Hargraves explained on the tactical match up. “They’ll be looking forward to Saturday because their record against teams above them in the table is actually very good, it’s the games against the likes of Fleetwood, Burton, Exeter that have been the ones they’ve kind of struggled the most… It’s been down to the opposition more than anything I think.”
Chris Martin return
Derby will be hopeful of avoiding a scare of any sorts in the west on Saturday, similar to that at Pride Park in the reverse fixtures. The Rams had been leading until a late Chris Martin goal seemingly spoiled the afternoon.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing managed to rescue the day with a finish of his own just moments later, sealing all three points. If there’s one man that could ruin the promotion party though, many will be hoping it isn’t the returning Martin.
Hargraves discussed the impact of the former striker and whether he could haunt the Rams once more: “He’s [Chris Martin] been crucial. I mean 15 goals in 29 games [across all competitions]. He’s in magnificent form, 11 goals in 11 games. I don’t think anyone expected him to do this well I think, to be honest, in terms of the goal scoring, he’s very much in contention for that golden boot now… but like I said, he’s been crucial, without his goals, god knows where Rovers would be and I think it’s most impressive given the fact he didn’t have a full pre-season or any pre-season at all.
“He was signed on a free transfer, I think it was September 26th, so he’s done so well and I don’t think it’s just the goals, he contributes defensively as well, obviously an experienced head.
“Will he haunt the Rams? To be honest, you’d probably have to say yes, Rovers tend to score in the vast majority of games. It’s rare that anyone keeps a clean sheet against them regardless of the result and most of those goals at the moment have obviously been scored by Chris Martin.”
Dan Hargraves score prediction: Bristol Rovers 1-1 Derby County.
Ten games to go
So the stage is set, ten cup finals remain for Derby players to stand up, be counted and get that promotion push over the line.
From the deepest depths of disillusion and liquidation fears comes the days fans would’ve dreamed of nearly two years ago. The run-in starts with Bristol Rovers, which will be far from an easy tie, but one that the Rams must win to keep themselves in the hunt.
Luke Thrower score prediction: Bristol Rovers 0-1 Derby County.
Derby County and Bristol Rovers stats
Head-to-head:
- Games played: 30
- Derby County wins: 14
- Draws: 7
- Bristol Rovers wins: 9
Latest fixture: Derby County 2-1 Bristol Rovers – 25 November 2023.
Bristol Rovers form: Three wins, zero draws, two defeats. Eight goals for, eight goals against.
Derby County form: Three wins, zero draws, two defeats. Nine goals for, four goals against.