Derby County will clash heads with Southampton at Pride Park this weekend looking to kick off their FA Cup campaign with a win. The Rams have looked outstanding going forward but have conceded a lot of goals at the other end of the pitch in recent weeks. So we can expect a highly entertaining game of football with two teams trying their best to keep their cup dreams alive.
Frank Lampard could opt to stick with his preferred lineup of 4-3-3 while keeping changes to a minimum for this upcoming clash at East Midlands.
4-3-3 Derby County Predicted Lineup To Face Southampton
Defence
Scott Carson is expected to resume his shot-stopping duties ahead of Kelle Roos for this weekend’s FA Cup clash at Pride Park. The English shot-stopper has conceded seven goals in his last three starts for the Rams.
The defensive duo of Richard Keogh and Fikayo Tomori might start at the centre of Frank Lampard’s backline. Andre Wisdom is expected to put in a shift as the left-back while Jayden Bogle, will operate on the other side as the right-back.
Lampard needs his defenders to put in a good performance this weekend after a poor run of games where his defence have looked shaky at best, which has further put a dent to Derby’s title aspirations this term.
Midfield
The Rams midfield could be comprised of Mason Mount, who will operate as the defensive lynchpin while George Evans and Harry Wilson look to be more adventurous and inventive ahead of him. All three of them have caught the eye on quite a few occasions this season, but they need to be more consistent with their level of performances on the pitch. So this match against the Saints could serve as the ideal opportunity for them to do precisely that.
Wilson found the back of the net versus Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day so he will be a real goal-threat from midfield.
Attack
Lampard’s front three could see the likes of Florian Jozefzoon, Martyn Waghorn and Jack Marriott feature on Saturday against a Southampton defence that managed to keep a clean sheet against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Both Jozefzoon and Marriot are in a good run of form following their goal-scoring exploits against Norwich City last weekend so we can expect them to be a real threat in front of goal.
