Derby County are gearing up for their next League One clash with Bristol Rovers, who will miss one key player.
The hunt for League One promotion is on as a whole host of clubs look to claim second place as their own. With ten games left, it’s Derby County that currently hold that position with hopes of keeping up the pace.
It’s been a battle of inconsistency at the top though, with one or more of the teams at the top dropping points in any given match. The Rams recently fell victim to that, recording back-to-back defeats to Barnsley and then Charlton.
A convincing 3-0 win over Port Vale has put Paul Warne‘s team back on track, but they will have to continue stacking those victories together to earn promotion. Next up is a trip to Bristol Rovers, which will be far from an easy tie.
Bristol Rovers blow
Bristol Rovers are the next focus for Derby, who have a full week of preparation to win all three points. The Rams were embroiled in the late late show at Pride Park in the reverse fixture, where a 90th minute Nathaniel Mendez-Laing goal won the tie.
Former striker Chris Martin could haunt the east Midlands outfit, with 15 goals to his name already this campaign. While there may be concerns over the goal scorer, Bristol Rovers will be without experienced defender James Wilson.
The centre-back was involved in an off-the-ball tussle against Leyton Orient last time out, receiving a straight red card. It means Matt Taylor will be forced to make a change in his backline, which has won three of their last four games.
Derby County praise
Bristol Rovers boss Matt Taylor has been full of praise for Derby as he looked ahead to the tie. Following his side’s win over Leyton Orient, he said, via Bristol Live: “I want this group of players to value more what we see as important at this level of football.
“In terms of the confidence that we’ve got on the back of an ugly win last week and a different type of win this weekend, all of a sudden that’s three out of the last four we’ve won games of football. We’re moving in the right direction but we want to keep valuing consistency as well because every time we’ve had a bit of a threat of good form, it’s been curtailed.
“Now, we welcome probably one of the best teams in the league [Derby County] to the Mem [Memorial Stadium] next weekend and all of a sudden that is a game to really look forward to.”
