Derby County host Wolves under-21 on Wednesday night in the EFL Trophy as they look to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
The Rams are already top of the group after two wins, a 2-1 victory away at Notts County and a 2-0 win at home to Lincoln City.
A win or draw will secure Derby’s place into the knockout rounds, but a loss could still be enough due to their superior goal difference, provided they don’t lose by three or more goals.
This is a perfect opportunity for manager Paul Warne to give some minutes to some of the under-21 players who have been knocking on the door for some time.
Who could feature for Derby?
Here we look at three players who we could see make an appearance.
Dajaune Brown
Dajaune Brown is highly rated at Derby, with fans having been eager to see him get more minutes over the last few weeks.
He featured in the squad on Sunday in the 2-2 draw against Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup and made his league debut for the club last Tuesday in the 4-0 win over Northampton Town, coming off the bench in the 77th minute.
Whisk the under-21s have had a poor start to the season in the Premier League 2, currently sitting second bottom.
However, the recently turned 18-year-old has scored five goals so far this season, including a brace in their only win so far, a 4-2 win over Manchester City’s under-21s less than two weeks ago.
With other strikers like Conor Washington failing to impress in recent weeks, it is the perfect opportunity for Warne to grant the fans’ wishes and give Brown some extended minutes on the pitch.
Darren Robinson
Darren Robinson is an 18-year-old defensive midfielder, who can also play at centre-back.
He also featured in the Derby squad against Crewe and has been in and around the first team squad for a fair amount of time.
He has represented his county, Northern Ireland, at under-21 level. He has already made his first team debut, making a Championship appearance for the club in 21/22.
Cruz Allen
Cruz Allen is a 16-year-old and a Wales under-17 international.
He certainly has quality, as shown by the goal he scored for his national side against Poland in September.
He was named on the bench in the match against Notts County, so there is a chance he could also feature for Derby on Wednesday.