The international break is over and this weekend’s action in the Championship takes Derby County to Deepdale to face off against a struggling Preston North End side.
Before the break, Derby County were disappointed to drop points in a 1-1 draw against Plymouth Argyle at Pride Park.
Still, the Rams are sitting in 12th place in the Championship table and have to be feeling pretty positive about the way the season has gone so far upon their return to the second tier.
Paul Warne has had his team working hard during the international break to ensure they come back and secure a big three points away at Preston this weekend.
Preston North End meanwhile are down in 20th place, but they are just four points behind Derby going into this weekend, and the unpredictable nature of the Championship could throw up any result from this game.
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David Prutton thinks Derby County will drop points vs Preston North End
Predicting the outcome of this game, as with any Championship fixture, is a tricky one, but David Prutton and Simeon Gholam have given it a go on the Essential EFL podcast for Sky Sports.
Prutton didn’t have a lot to say on the matter, but it seems the fact Derby are away for this one has put some doubt in his mind as to whether the Rams can get a result.
When asked for his prediction on the scoreline, Prutton said: “I’m going to go 1-1.”
Perhaps Prutton didn’t hear his co-host when Gholam explained that “Preston North End have won just two of last 18 games against Derby, failing to score in eight of the last ten.”
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History is on Derby County’s side against Preston
Historically speaking, then, Derby County have almost always had the better of Preston, at least in the relatively recent past.
Of course, the two teams come into this meeting in a different situation, with Derby only just finding their feet back in the Championship. And, with home advantage, Preston will fancy themselves to at least get something from a game that is very likely to be important when it comes to the relegation battle come the end of the season.
| Date | Result |
|---|---|
| 2nd April 2022 | Derby 1-0 Preston |
| 16th October 2021 | Preston 0-0 Derby |
| 20th April 2021 | Preston 3-0 Derby |
| 26th December 2020 | Derby 0-1 Preston |
| 1st July 2020 | Preston 0-1 Derby |
| 23rd November 2019 | Derby 1-0 Preston |
| 1st February 2019 | Preston 0-0 Derby |
| 25th August 2018 | Derby 2-0 Preston |
| 2nd April 2018 | Preston 0-1 Derby |
| 15th August 2017 | Derby 1-0 Preston |
Derby have been very hard to beat this season, largely because of their solid defensive line, but goals have been harder to come by, and the Rams are struggling to dominate possession in games, too.
If Preston can get hold of the game early and get the crowd behind them, Deepdale could become a very difficult environment for Paul Warne’s side. There are very rarely goals in the matches between these two teams, and the one goal could easily win it for either side this time.
A lot will also depend on the Derby County lineup for the Preston game, with Warne hoping to have the likes of David Ozoh and Callum Elder back in his squad after injuries.