Championship | Gameweek 18

Dec 1, 2024 at 3pm UK

Pride Park Stadium

Derby vs Sheff Weds

Match preview

Derby County are looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat and end a three-match winless streak after dropping into the Championship's bottom half in recent weeks.

After winning promotion from England's third tier last time around, the Rams have earned 20 points from their first 17 outings. They've picked up five victories and seven defeats. They've mainly impressed in attack, with only two sides outside of the playoff places having netted more than their 21 goals ahead of the weekend.

Paul Warne's side picked up two wins in a six-game streak between October and November, which produced nine points and only one defeat. However, they haven't been able to build on that since, going on to play out 1-1 draws with Plymouth Argyle and Preston North End either side of the November international break.

Swansea City paid a visit to Pride Park on Wednesday and came away with all three points. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's penalty wasn't enough to turn the game around, and the visitors eventually went down 2-1. Zan Vipotnik and Ronald had put them two goals up inside 15 minutes.

Derby County are now in 15th place after that setback, but they're still leading the bottom three by five points and only trailing 10th place by two. They'll be keen to bounce back and leapfrog their visitors with a return to winning ways at Pride Park on Sunday.

They've got a tough test ahead of them, though. The visitors are coming in with the aim of continuing their climb into the top half with a second straight victory at the weekend.

Sheffield Wednesday's season has been pretty inconsistent so far, but they've made some big improvements on last season. They barely avoided relegation and finished with 53 points.

In their first full season under Danny Rohl, the Owls have collected 22 points from the first 17 games and sit 13th. They've had some struggles at the back, conceding 26 goals, but only four sides in the division have allowed more.

After losing 1-0 to Sheffield United in the Steel City Derby, they drew 1-1 at home to Cardiff City last weekend. They then visited Hull City on Tuesday and won 2-0 thanks to a penalty from Josh Windass and a second goal from Michael Smith in the final 10 minutes.

That result saw Rohl's team move up to within touching distance of the top half of the table. They'll be looking to make it consecutive league wins for the first time this term.

Recent Performance

Derby County Championship form:DLWDDL

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:WLWLDW

Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):LLWLDW

Team News

Derby County will still be without defender Ryan Nyambe and midfielder David Ozoh on Sunday because of injury problems. However, Jerry Yates will be back in contention after being ineligible to play against his parent club, Swansea City, in midweek.

He should come back in and lead the line from the outset, having scored four league goals so far this season, which is the most of anyone on the team. Corey Blackett-Taylor, Marcus Harness and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing will likely continue in support.

With Ozoh out, we'll see Kenzo Goudmijn and Ebou Adams back together in midfield again, while Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson should keep their spots on defence, even with Nat Phillips pushing for a spot.

Sheffield Wednesday will be without key defender Di'Shon Bernard, who is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season against Hull City. Fellow centre-backs Akin Famewo and Michael Ihiekwe remain out with injuries, along with winger Olaf Kobacki.

With Bernard out, Dominic Iorfa should come in to join Yan Valery and Max Lowe in a back three. Southampton loanee Shea Charles will also continue to play a key role alongside captain Barry Bannan in the engine room.

Michael Smith could replace Ike Ugbo and lead the attack after coming off the bench to score his fourth goal of the season on Tuesday. Josh Windass is likely to keep his place in the attack having moved onto five for the season in that game.

Possible starting lineup

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Zetterstrom; Wilson, Nelson, Cashin, Elder; Adams, Goudmijn; Mendez-Laing, Harness, Blackett-Taylor; Yates

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Beadle; Valery, Iorfa, Lowe; Valentin, Charles, Bannan, Johnson; Windass, Smith, Gassama