After progressing through the group phase of the EFL Trophy, Derby County will want to go one step closer to booking their place at Wembley when they host Fleetwood Town this evening.
The Rams are in great form in League One and have won their last four matches in the third tier.
The latest of those was against Port Vale last Tuesday as on-loan Arsenal striker, Tyreece John-Jules, scored a late winner on his return to the side.
Whilst Paul Warne is fully focused on leading Derby towards promotion, the allure of silverware is an enticing proposition and assistant manager, Richie Barker, has echoed that sentiment in his pre-match interview.
He said: “We want to do well in the Trophy. We want to keep the momentum going and have a run in it, but obviously we are aware that we have a game coming up on Saturday as well at Leyton Orient. It goes straight to penalties too which is a massive lottery, so ideally we want the job done in 90 minutes.”
Given Barker has expressed his desire to go deep into this competition, Derby could name a strong lineup against Fleetwood this evening. Here is our predicted XI…
Derby County predicted lineup against Fleetwood
With the emphasis on going strong, Joe Wildsmith should continue in between the sticks having kept eight clean sheets in 18 League One appearances this term.
Sonny Bradley, who has started in all three matches in this competition, should partner Eirhin Cashin at the heart of the defence.
At right-back, Kane Wilson can continue his stellar run of form in the EFL Trophy having recorded three assists in as many matches.
On the other flank, Callum Elder continues to make his recovery from injury which means veteran Craig Forsyth should get the nod in that position.
With Korey Smith ruled out of this match, Warne’s job of picking his midfield is made easier and Conor Hourihane, who captained the side in a 2-1 victory over Notts County, is likely to partner Tyreese Fornah in the double pivot.
Playing slightly ahead of that duo, influential midfield maestro Max Bird – who has scored twice and assisted three goals this term – should start in this important fixture.
Whilst his creativity in behind will be crucial, Louie Sibley’s fleet-footed dribbling and low centre of gravity can help unlock the visitors on the right flank.
The 22-year-old has proven to be a match-winner in this competition and has scored three times, including a brace against Notts County.
Despite scoring the winner against Bristol Rovers, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing could be rested, with Tom Birkhuizen earning an opportunity to start on the left wing.
After scoring a hat-trick against Wolves U21 last time out, James Collins could have an opportunity to continue his fine form against the Cod Army this evening.