Derby County could be forced to change things around due to injury this evening.
The Rams will be looking to return to winning ways as they travel to Exeter City in League One.
Paul Warne‘s side were held to a draw by Shrewsbury Town last time out and now sit six points from top spot, and only a point above third place.
Exeter are in good form themselves though, despite sitting on almost half of Derby’s points. The Grecians have won four of their last six games in the third tier.
Derby could be handed a blow though, with Ryan Nyambe looking a doubt for the trip south.
The defender had been a regular under Warne until he headed to AFCON with Namibia last month, before returning to the starting line-up against Shrewsbury.
However, the Derby County boss has admitted he is ‘not sure’ whether Nyambe will be fit for tonight’s tie.
Speaking in his press conference, Warne said: “He is sore on his knee and I am not sure he is going to 100 per cent train with us.
“Hopefully he will be in my travelling party, but I don’t honestly know yet. He is still a bit sore on the outside of his knee. He took a bit of a hit so hopefully he will be okay.”
Are Derby County better with Ryan Nyambe?
Ryan Nyambe joins Conor Washington, Craig Forsyth, Martyn Waghorn, Jake Rooney and Tyreece John-Jules on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old’s absence could be of major significance due to how important he was to Derby before AFCON and his groin injury at the end of the year.
The Rams managed to claim four clean sheets in Nyambe’s last six games before he was sidelined in December, while they picked up two in the seven games without him.
Derby did only lose one of those games though so they should be capable of still putting on a solid defensive display against Exeter, while they will be desperate to avoid slipping back out of the top two.
The Midlands outfit face a promotion rival in Stevenage this weekend, and in the unfortunate event of back-to-back defeats, Derby could find themselves among a real battle again.
Meanwhile, Bolton and Barnsley both have games in hand over Derby, so they have no choice but to keep picking up points. Their game in hand over Portsmouth could also prove to be pivotal towards the end of the season.