Derby County are the next team Paul Warne’s Rotherham United are facing as they travel to the Pride Park Stadium on Saturday in the SkyBet Championship. Here, we take a look at who the Millers will be facing in our opposition analysis…
In the Dugout
Frank Lampard will be the man in the dugout for Derby on Saturday. The 40-year old former England midfielder represented West Ham United, Swansea, Chelsea, Manchester City and New York City FC in his career. He’s won 14 major club honours including three Premier League titles as well as the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
He became manager for Derby at the start of this season and has taken the Rams to eighth spot at present, two points outside of the Play-offs.
Stats
Derby currently sit in eighth position, two points outside of the Play-offs. They have won fifteen of their league fixtures this season, scoring 46 goals in the process. In their last five however, they have only won once, drawing two and losing two. Within those five games, they have scored just three goals and conceded seven. Their last game was a 0-0 away draw at Stoke City.
Previous Meetings
This is the 49th meeting between these sides with the first being a 5-2 away victory for Derby County in December 1953. Rotherham have won 14 of these fixtures while Derby have won 17, with there being 17 draws. The last time out, Rotherham beat Derby 1-0 earlier this season. In September 2018, a Ryan Manning penalty gave the Millers all three points and Tom Lawerence was sent off for Derby as Lampard’s men finished the game with 10 men.
Ones to Watch
Our Ones to Watch start with goalkeeper Kelle Roos. The 26-year old Dutch international represented the Millers on a loan spell in 2015. Roos started his career in his homeland in a variety of youth academies which include PSV and Willem II. He joined Derby in 2014 after impressing at Nuneaton Town and has had a variety of loan spells which include spells at AFC Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers. He is likely to be in battle with Scott Carson for a starting shirt on the day.
In defence, on loan defender Fikayo Tomori continues to impress. The 21-year old is currently on loan from Chelsea and has had previous loan spells at Hull City and Brighton. He won the FIFA U20 World Cup tournament with England and won the FA Youth Cup twice in his career.
In midfield, experienced Tom Huddlestone will be the man to watch. The 32-year old has played for Tottenham, Hull City and Wolves in his career before re-joining Derby in 2017. Derby has just triggered an extension in the former England international’s contract and has represented Derby over 25 times this season.
Upfront, Martyn Waghorn is likely to be the man leading the line. The striker has scored eight goals this season and also has three assists to his name. The former Leicester City and Ipswich Town striker has represented England U19 and U21 in his career and joined Derby last summer, making him Lampard’s seventh signing as a manager.