Derby County travel to strugglers Reading in a League One clash tonight and Paul Warne has some key decisions to make.
Derby County missed the chance to go one point behind leaders Portsmouth after succumbing to a goalless draw against Lincoln City on Saturday.
The Rams registered 19 shots on goal and had multiple opportunities to win the match, but it wasn’t to be.
Paul Warne’s side now turn their attention towards a trip to Reading, where they are boosted by the arrival of Charlton Athletic winger Corey Blackett-Taylor.
The 26-year-old is an exciting signing and although many will want him to start, Warne will likely resist temptation and keep him on the bench.
With only Bolton Wanderers in action around them tonight, Derby have a chance to leapfrog Portsmouth into first position in the table as long as they beat the Royals.
Despite occupying 21st position, Reading are unbeaten in four of their last five League One matches, so it won’t be an easy night for the Rams by any stretch of the imagination.
Nonetheless, Warne will expect his side to have enough firepower in their armoury to get the job done in Berkshire.
Here’s our predicted lineup for Reading vs Derby County…
Derby County predicted XI vs Reading – Tyreece John-Jules starts
Josh Vickers replaced Joe Wildsmith after the 3-2 defeat against Peterborough United and the 28-year-old has kept his place ever since. Although that has raised some question marks, Warne is unlikely to reverse that decision after watching Vickers keep a clean sheet against Lincoln.
In the absence of Ryan Nyambe, Kane Wilson has cemented his spot in the team at right-back ahead of Joe Ward.
Meanwhile, Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson have cemented their places in central defence throughout the season. The colossal duo have helped Derby keep an impressive ten clean sheets – they’d love to make it 11 tonight.
Callum Elder has taken the spot at the left-back since Craig Forsyth suffered an injury, but the Australian has struggled and Warne could experiment by putting Louie Sibley there.
Speculation over Max Bird’s future will be rife as deadline day approaches but he’ll keep his spot in the team alongside the ever-present Conor Hourihane, who scored the winner against Burton Albion a week ago.
Tom Barkhuizen should keep his place on the right with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing looking to cause trouble down the left.
Sibley started as the number 10/second striker against Lincoln, but switching him to left-back can make way for Tyreece John-Jules, who was described as a ‘genius’ by two of his Derby teammates in training.
That leaves a place up top for top scorer James Collins. With 12 goals scored, he’s currently having the best season of his career since scoring 14 in the Championship for Luton Town in the 2019/20 campaign.