A nerve-shredding 90 minutes awaits Derby County supporters as they host Leyton Orient on Saturday afternoon.
You could cut the tension with a knife at the top of the League One table, and Derby County haven’t helped themselves in that regard. Following their goalless draw against Wycombe Wanderers on Wednesday night, the promotion pendulum swung towards Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United.
Dropping two points at Adams Park has left Paul Warne‘s men inside the automatic promotion places by two points, but Bolton have played a game less.
It means that, while promotion is no longer in their hands, the Trotters face Portsmouth at home this weekend and Peterborough on the final day.
The chances of them winning all four matches are slim, but not impossible, so Derby must take care of themselves and hope it’s enough to seal a top-two spot.
A fixture against Leyton Orient is a great opportunity to bounce back as they have nothing to play for in the final three matches.
As Warne was disappointed with the performance of his players and the outcome against Wycombe, he is poised to make changes, with the hope that Joe Ward is fit enough to make the squad.
In his post-match interview on Wednesday, he confirmed the 28-year-old still had a swollen knee and wasn’t sure he’d be in contention to start this weekend.
With this news in mind, here’s how Derby could line up against Leyton Orient…
Derby County predicted XI v Leyton Orient
Goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith has grown in stature throughout this campaign and the top-drawer save he made in the dying embers against Wycombe preserved a point for Derby.
A back four of Kane Wilson, Eiran Cashin, Curtis Nelson and Louie Sibley was solid against the Chairboys without being spectacular. Warne will expect more of the same this weekend, with Wilson and Sibley given extra license to drive forward.
Ebou Adams was the only player to come out of Wednesday’s match with any praise, dominating the midfield alongside Korey Smith. The Derby boss could opt for more technical guile by dropping Smith for Conor Hourihane, but the 33-year-old has rarely put a foot wrong and is likely to keep his place.
Warne’s biggest selection dilemma is the makeup of his attack, and whether he switches formation up front.
He may be tempted to keep Corey Blackett-Taylor on the left, despite watching him miss an open goal against Wycombe while playing Nathaniel Mendez-Laing on the opposite flank.
Derby’s front two, James Collins and Conor Washington weren’t fed enough in midweek and the latter could drop out for Tom Barkhuizen.
Lauded as “super” previously, the 30-year-old would bring an injection of pace and energy to the Rams attack following injury.