Derby County face Huddersfield Town on Saturday with the Rams looking to complete their first Championship double of the campaign.
Phillip Cocu’s side beat the Terriers 2-1 on the opening day of the season.
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images).
A lot has changed since that day. Derby are more settled, while Huddersfield have no doubt improved under Danny Cowley after a torrid start to the season.
Derby head into the game coming off the back of a 3-2 defeat at Bristol City. Cocu will likely make changes, and here is how we believe the home side will line up:
On-loan goalkeeper Ben Hamer is ineligible to face his parent club. Kelle Roos, therefore, will start for Derby and give him a chance to win back his place in the side.
Andre Wisdom had a poor game at Bristol City. The £3 million 2017 signing struggled to deal with balls coming into the box. Curtis Davies may come back in.
Max Lowe and Jayden Bogle also struggled at Ashton Gate. However, the attacking fullbacks are a threat going forward and will help Derby pin Huddersfield back.
Wayne Rooney and Max Bird will continue at central midfield. Duane Holmes and Tom Lawrence will also retain their places as attacking midfielders.
The other change Cocu may contemplate is bringing back Jason Knight. The young Irishman sat out the defeat at Bristol City with Chris Martin getting the nod upfront.
(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/WBA FC via Getty Images).
Putting Knight back in will allow top scorer Martyn Waghorn to play in his favoured central role. The former Ipswich Town man is certainly a bigger threat through the middle.
Also see: Rival boss likens reported Derby target to £20m player Brighton signed last summer
Also see: Rival Championship boss suggests Derby County have underachieved this season