Derby County are the next side to face Paul Warne’s Rotherham United at the ASSEAL New York Stadium on Saturday in the Sky Bet Championship. We take a look at who the Millers are facing in our opposition analysis…
In the Dugout
Frank Lampard will be the man in the dugout for Derby County on Saturday. The rookie boss needs no introduction following an illustrious playing career, which saw him represent West Ham, Swansea City, Chelsea, Manchester City and New York City FC, making over 900 career appearances and scoring over 200 goals, resulting in him being classed by many as a Premier League great. Starting at West Ham youth academy, he joined Chelsea for £11 million in June 2001 and won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two Football League Cups and two Community Shields, as well as the UEFA Champions League and Europa League titles. He also won many individual awards and represented England 106 times, scoring 29 goals, becoming England highest scoring midfielder, beating the previous record held by David Platt. He also represented England at the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament as well as FIFA World Cup tournaments of 2010 and 2014.
He joined as manager of Derby County in the summer on a three-year deal and has made wholesale changes which included players and backroom staff as the Rams once again look to mount a promotion push.
Stats
Derby have won seven of their last nine matches, league and cup, which leaves them 4th in the Sky Bet Championship table and in the third round of the Carabao Cup, where they face a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United later in the month.
In their last five fixtures, league and cup, they have won four of their last five, winning their last four. In those four victories, they have scored 10 goals and conceded one. Their last fixture was a 2-1 away victory at Hull City, where Martyn Waghorn and Florain Jozefzoon scored in-between Todd Kane’s equaliser to give the visitors all three points.
Head to Head
This is the 48th fixture between these sides with Derby winning seventeen of these fixtures. The Millers have won thirteen of the fixtures and there being seventeen draws. Rotherham haven’t beat Derby in all competitions since August 2009 and haven’t beaten Derby in the league since August 2002. In the last five, this fixture has amassed 21 goals combined between the teams, with Derby scoring fourteen.
The last time Rotherham beat Derby was in August 2009 2-1 in the League Cup, courtesy of goals from Paul Warne and Kevin Ellison, cancelling out Gary Teale’s opener. The last time these teams faced each other was in May 2017, where Rotherham collected a point following a 1-1 home draw. A 84th minute penalty by Tom Ince cancelled out a second-half strike by Lee Frecklington to salvage a point for the Rams.
Ones to Watch
Our ones to watch start with experienced goalkeeper Scott Carson. Making just under 500 career appearances, the former England stopper represented Leeds United, Liverpool, Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion, Bursaspor and Wigan Athletic. He has won many honours which include a UEFA Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 and promotion to the Premier League with West Brom in 2010. He joined Derby at the start of the 2015/16 season for an undisclosed fee following Wigan’s relegation to League One and has amassed over 100 appearances for the Rams.
In defence, experienced centre-half Richard Keogh has stepped up in the absence of captain Curtis Davies. The former Republic of Ireland international joined Derby in 2012 for a rumoured fee of over £1 million and has amassed just under 300 appearances for the Rams. Next to him would likely be Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori. He won the U20 World Cup with England in 2017 and has played in the Championship with Brighton and Hull. The full-backs of Andre Wisdom and Scott Malone will look to bomb forward at every opportunity and have been ever-present for the Rams since their moves from Liverpool and Huddersfield Town respectively.
In midfield, promising youngster Mason Mount has burst onto the season after joining on loan from Chelsea this summer. Touted as the “next Frank Lampard”, Mount has represented England from U16 to U19 level and had a productive spell last season at Vitesse Arnhem. Currently Derby’s top scorer in the League with four goals, the nineteen year old is a future star in the making. On the wing Tom Lawrence is scoring the goals with three already this season, with the former Manchester United youth as Derby’s second highest scorer.
Upfront, summer signing Martyn Waghorn has scored two in his last two for Derby and could keep experienced striker David Nugent out of the side. They could also call upon Florain Jozefzoon who also has scored two in his last two for the club.