Two sides in contrasting ends of the EFL Championship table square off on Monday as Derby County play host to West Bromwich Albion at the Pride Park Stadium.
The hosts are currently rooted to the bottom of the table with four points from 22 games, while the visitors could rise to second place with all three points.
Derby County returned to winning ways in the EFL Championship two weeks ago when they saw off Blackpool 1-0 on home turf. Prior to that, Wayne Rooney’s men held Fulham to a bore draw on November 24th before suffering successive defeats against QPR and Bristol City.
With just four points from 22 games, the Rams are currently rock-bottom in the EFL Championship table.
Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion were denied their third league win on the spin last time out when they played out an uneventful goalless draw with Barnsley. Valérien Ismaël’s side are now unbeaten in each of their last five outings, picking up two wins and three draws since November’s 1-0 loss to Huddersfield Town.
With 41 points from 23 games, West Bromwich Albion are currently fourth on the log, four points behind league leaders Fulham.
Derby County vs West Bromwich Albion Head-To-Head
Derby County head into Monday’s game with a clear upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming 53 wins from the last 122 meetings between the sides. West Brom have picked up 38 wins in that time, while 31 games have ended in draws.
Derby County Form Guide: W-D-L-L-W
West Bromwich Albion Form Guide: D-D-W-W-D
Derby County vs West Bromwich Albion Team News
Derby County
The Rams will have to make do with the absence of Sam Baldock, Krystian Bielik, Lee Buchanan and Jack Stretton, all of whom have been sidelined through injuries.
Injured: Sam Baldock, Krystian Bielik, Lee Buchanan, Jack Stretton
Suspended: None
West Bromwich Albion
The visitors remain without Kean Bryan and Dara O'Shea, who are both recuperating from injuries
Injured: Kean Bryan, Dara O'Shea
Suspended: None
Derby County vs West Bromwich Albion Predicted XI
Derby County Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kelle Roos; Craig Forsyth, Curtis Davies, Phil Jagielka, Nathan Byrne; Graeme Shinnie, Liam Thompson, Max Bird; Jason Knight, Colin Kazim-Richards, Tom Lawrence
West Bromwich Albion Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Sam Johnstone, Semi Ajayi, Kyle Bartley, Matt Clarke, Darnell Furlong, Jake Livermore, Alex Mowatt, Conor Townsend, Grady Diangana, Karlan Grant, Jordan Hugill
Derby County vs West Bromwich Albion Prediction
While Derby County will look to build on their morale-boosting win over Blackpool, next up is a significantly stronger West Bromwich Albion side, who have been solid in the first half of the season. We are tipping the visitors to claim all three points in this one.
Prediction: Derby County 0-2 West Bromwich Albion