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Clough: Seeking away win

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Derby County will be hoping to end their poor away run when they travel to Watford on Saturday.

The Rams have taken five points from their last three matches and have risen to 17th in the table, four points clear of the Championship relegation places.

However, Nigel Clough's side are still searching for their first victory of the season away from Pride Park.

Vicarage Road has seen very few visiting teams triumph so far this term, with Watford boasting an impressive record in front of their home crowd.

The Hornets have won their last four matches at home - scoring 12 goals and conceding only two in the process.

Their most recent home win came over QPR on Monday - a game that saw them come from behind to beat their visitors 3-1 and lift them to within one point of the Championship play-off places.

Team news

Watford will see the return of striker Heidar Helguson, who missed Monday night's win over QPR due to the terms of his loan deal from the West London club.

Nathan Ellington, who was handed a rare start against Rangers, is likely to find himself on the bench again with Helguson partnering Danny Graham in attack.

Boss Malky Mackay will hand a late fitness check to Henri Lansbury after the on-loan Arsenal midfielder sat out on Monday with a hip injury.

Club captain Jay DeMerit could also return to the starting line-up for the first time since August after recovering from eye surgery.

Derby centre-half Jake Buxton could return to the squad for the first time since the end of August, after a string of injuries forced him onto the sidelines.

The Rams will still be without Shaun Barker (thigh) and there are doubts over the fitness of Dean Leacock (hamstrings) and Miles Addison (foot).

Chris Porter made his first competitive appearance since the beginning of March as a second-half substitute at Deepdale following a troublesome hip problem.

The striker, along with fellow forward Steve Davies (hamstring), midfielder Ben Pringle (knee) and goalkeeper Saul Deeney (ankle), also featured for the reserves this week and could be included in the squad once more.