Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer has predicted whether Derby County will go up to the Championship this season.
Derby County were close to going out of business altogether before David Clowes stepped in and saved the club.
During the fractious Mel Morris ownership, negativity circulated Pride Park as points deductions and skyrocketing debts saw the Rams relegated to League One in 2022.
In their first season back in the third tier, Derby narrowly missed out on the play-offs, but Paul Warne’s troops are threatening to go one better this term by winning promotion automatically.
The newly found stability of the David Clowes ownership has allowed the club to dream once more and entering the final 10 matches of the season, they are one point adrift of second-place Bolton Wanderers, who they play next Saturday.
With as many as five teams capable of finishing in the top two, promotion is impossible to call at this stage but Carlton Palmer believes Derby will win automatic promotion.
Carlton Palmer believes Derby County will win promotion
Speaking to Football League World, the former Sheffield Wednesday player said: “I’d say Portsmouth are going to get the first automatic spot and it’s between the other four. Barnsley and Peterborough both have a game in hand so if Barnsley win theirs, that puts them level with Bolton with the same games, and Peterborough will only be two behind.
“It’s going to be a hell of a scrap until the end of the season. At the start of the season, I fancied Derby County to get automatic promotion and I’m going to stick my neck out on that. But the team that is currently on an unbelievable run is Barnsley. Four wins, two draws in their last six games means they’re the team in form.
“As I’ve said, I’m going to go with Derby County to get that automatic spot but Barnsley are the team that are bang in form.
“I went for Derby County at the start, so I’ll hang my hat on them getting that last automatic spot.”
Despite showing faith in Warne’s side to get the job done, he does give Barnsley a fighting chance and has pointed towards their “unbelievable” form as the decisive factor.
Derby have to be wary of Barnsley
As Palmer alluded to, there is always one team that makes a late charge through the playoffs and Barnsley could be that side.
Under the tutelage of Neill Collins, the Tykes have played some wonderful this season and are perhaps one of the most easy-on-the-eye teams to watch in the division.
Their stunning football has also been complemented by an incredible run of form having lost just one of their last 19 games in League One.
It’s a run of results that has seen them climb up to fourth in the table, currently two points behind Derby with a game in hand.
Many are talking about the promotion credentials of Peterborough and Bolton, but Barnsley are the team that the Rams need to watch out for, especially after losing against them two weeks ago.