Derby County will be looking to build on their impressive start to the season when they host Cardiff City on Saturday.
Derby County are back in Championship action on Saturday and are once again playing at Pride Park.
Last time out, Paul Warne’s men played host to Bristol City and beat them 3-0 to extend their unbeaten home record at the start of the 2024/25 season.
That result left the Rams 10th in the Championship table going into the September international break.
Given Derby were among the favourites to go down this season, Warne should be pleased with how they have started the campaign.
Another home victory could well be on the cards this weekend given how badly Cardiff have started the current campaign.
The Welsh outfit were beaten 2-0 by Middlesbrough in their last Championship fixture and are now dead bottom of the division with a -9 goal difference.
Derby County vs Cardiff City score prediction
Despite Derby starting the season well, there is still no doubt fears among the fanbase that their side will be in a relegation battle come May.
As a result, when facing off with sides like Cardiff who are yet to win a game in 2024/25, Warne’s men cannot afford to drop any points, especially as they are home.
EFL pundit Sam Parkin shared that same view when speaking on the Championship Check-In podcast this week.
Parkin stated his belief that Saturday’s game will be a ‘massive one’ for Derby if they can get another three points on the board despite it still being very early in the season.
He said: “I’ll go for a 2-1 home win. I’ll go for Cardiff to score maybe a bit of a changed side.
“But Derby to get over the line in what will probably be a really competitive game and even this early stage of the season, a massive one for Derby to win I think if they could get another maximum points.”
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While Saturday will only be the Rams’ fifth game of the Championship campaign, Parkin’s point about it potentially being a massive game stands.
Derby’s away record this term has been pretty poor so far, with a 4-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on the opening day followed by a 2-1 loss to Watford later in August.
As they are a newly-promoted team, the Derbyshire outfit were always expected to struggle on the road.
But if they want to stay up this season, they need to have an excellent record at Pride Park.
And with Cardiff in such poor form right now, anything but a win for Derby on Saturday could deal them a major confidence blow and potentially see their form take a downward spiral.
Erol Bulut’s men have been far from their best this season and are expected to sit deep when they face Derby.
This presents Warne with a fresh challenge as most teams who have played them recently tend to press high and put the Rams under pressure, which has worked in their favour, especially against Middlesbrough.