Derby County vs Sheffield United. Sky Bet Championship.
Pride Park StadiumAttendance30,003.
Sunday 31 December 2017 11:58, UK
Bradley Johnson and Joe Ledley will be assessed ahead of Derby's home clash with Sheffield United.
The pair missed Saturday's 2-1 win at Ipswich with minor back injuries, with George Thorne and Tom Lawrence coming in.
Boss Gary Rowett made three other changes for the match, with Andre Wisdom, Johnny Russell and Sam Winnall starting.
Striker Winnall will almost certainly keep his starting spot after bagging a superb brace to earn the Rams the points at Portman Road.
George Baldock is set to start for Sheffield United.
Boss Chris Wilder had hoped to rest the defender for Saturday's game at Bolton but brought him on after 31 minutes for Cameron Carter-Vickers in a tactical switch.
Clayton Donaldson was also given a breather, with Billy Sharp starting, and the former Birmingham striker will hope for a more prominent role against the Rams.
John Fleck returned from suspension at the Macron Stadium and is likely to keep his place but David Brooks has been struggling with tonsillitis and may miss out again.
Derby have lost six of their last nine league matches against Sheffield United (W2 D1).
This is the Blades' first league visit to Pride Park Stadium since September 2010, a 1-0 win via a Richard Cresswell goal.
The last time Gary Rowett faced Chris Wilder in a home league match, the two managers were managing in League Two - Rowett's Burton Albion lost 2-0 against Wilder's Oxford United side in September 2013.
The Blades haven't won on New Year's Day for 24 years, since a 2-1 victory at Oldham Athletic in the Premier League in 1994; Sheffield United haven't won away from home on New Years' Day since 1915, when they beat Blackburn.
These sides last met on a Monday in a league fixture in April 1969 at the Baseball Ground - Derby, managed by Brian Clough, won 1-0.
Billy Sharp has had a hand in eight goals in his last eight Football League starts against Derby (six goals, two assists).
Derby have been on a great run of form and they now look like genuine contenders for the top two in the Sky Bet Championship. They were a long way behind Sheffield United a few weeks ago but things have changed pretty quickly.
It was a poor defeat for the Blades at home to Bolton in the type of game they would be hoping to win but they're still in the top six heading into 2018, and they would have taken that at the start of the season.
Prutton predicts: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
