Derby County host Huddersfield Town in the Sky Bet Championship as they look to continue their recent surge up the table.
Derby County Welcome Huddersfield Town in Search of Sixth Straight Home Win
Form
Phillip Cocu’s side have won their last five home fixtures, buoyed by the arrival of England-hero Wayne Rooney since the turn of the year.
Huddersfield Town, meanwhile, are in danger of being dragged into a relegation scrap; they sit just five points above the drop zone.
The Terriers have picked up seven points from their last five games but like their opponents have had difficulty on the road this season.
Danny Cowley’s side have taken just 15 points away from the John Smith Stadium so far this season compared to the Rams’ 32 point tally at Pride Park.
Head to Head
Of the five clashes between the sides at Pride Park, Derby are unbeaten, drawing their last encounter and the winning the four matches before that.
Of their last 10 encounters, Huddersfield have won just once, back in October 2016.
The most recent fixture was on the opening weekend of this season when Derby won 2-1.
It was a rare away win for the Rams with Tom Lawrence scoring a first-half brace before Karlan Grant scored what was only a consolation goal for the Yorkshire side.
Team News
Derby are still without Tom Huddlestone whose recovery from injury has appeared to have suffered a setback.
Danny Cowley is hopeful to have both Karlan Grant and Jonathan Hogg back at his disposal at Pride Park.
Whilst he feels Chris Willock and Andy King are nearly up to match speed.
Playmaker Alex Pritchard is back in training for Huddersfield but it may be unlikely for him to return on Saturday.
What They Said
Phillip Cocu is hopeful Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss to Bristol City was a mere blip when he said: “We need to break the 14 games down because it’s a long distance. We need to focus on the next game and focus on ourselves.”
In regards to his opposite number, he said: “There’s always a change with new managers coming in. We have a good picture of how they play.
“The good home form doesn’t give any guarantee of a win, we must still show our best efforts.”
Visiting manager Danny Cowley is well aware of the threat the Rams pose and said: “Derby have had a good run recently. I went to Pride Park and watched them play Northampton.
”They’ve got some good attacking players. At home they’re a formidable opposition.”
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