A must win for Derby County on the final day of the regular EFL Championship season as they are set to go up against Barnsley on Sunday evening. The Rams currently hold the last spot of playoffs by a slim 2-point margin over Preston North End.
They absolutely cannot lose this tie or else will be in danger of losing their spot in the top-six. A simple draw will do as Preston will have to overcome a 9-goal margin before they can overtake Derby in that scenario.
Gary Rowett’s side has undergone a season of multiple ups and downs and losing their spot in the final game of the season will be heartbreaking for the fans at Pride Park. Their chances of making it heavily hinges on the resistance of a relegation-threatened Barnsley, who themselves are desperate for the maximum points.
Aston Villa certainly did not make it any easier for Derby after last weekend’s 1-1 draw at the Villa Park.
The visitors are not in the bottom-three solely on goal difference and still have a massive chance of getting relegated to the League One. Jose Morais will be ready to throw the kitchen sink at the Derby team to save their season in England’s second division.
Often at times, the bout of desperation cause more upsets in the last stages of the season than it could in the earlier half and score lines are hard to predict as might be in the case of the next encounter for Derby County.
The last time these two sides met was back in December and Derby won that by 3 goals to nil. A similar result will definitely be hard to replicate.
Nevertheless, here is how Rowett might field his men on gameday.
Formation: 3-4-2-1
Defence
Scott Carson is to start in between the sticks ahead of Kelle Roos and Jonathan Mitchell. The 32-year-old has racked up 19 clean sheets in the league this season while averaging 2 saves per match.
Craig Forsyth, Curtis Davies and Richard Keogh are expected to fill the defensive back-three.
Midfield
Tom Huddlestone and Bradley Johnson are to resume their duties from the holding midfield positions. Craig Forsyth and Andre Wisdom are to take over the fullback roles with the latter fielded on the right.
Attack
Tom Lawrence and Andreas Weimann should find themselves starting behind Cameron Jerome.
The striker seems to have finally hit his scoring form and will look to improve upon that tally.
