Derby vs Swansea preview
Friday 30 November 2018 11:20, UK
Captain Curtis Davies is a fresh injury absentee for Derby ahead of their home game against Swansea.
The central defender suffered suspected damage to his Achilles during Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat at Stoke and had to be carried off on a stretcher shortly before half-time.
Davies, who only recently returned to action after a hamstring injury, is due to see a specialist on Friday to assess the full extent of the problem. Craig Forsyth (knee) and Mason Bennett (hamstring) remain out but midfielder George Evans is back in contention following an injury-plagued campaign so far.
Swansea have no new problems as they look to bounce back from successive Sky Bet Championship defeats. The trip to Pride Park will come too soon for former Derby loan player Tom Carroll and Luciano Narsingh.
Midfielder Carroll (hip) has been out since the 3-1 victory over Blackburn at the end of October while attacker Narsingh is yet to make a first-team appearance this season. Kyle Naughton, Jay Fulton, Barrie McKay and Wilfried Bony are among those available for recalls should Swans boss Graham Potter want to make any changes.
Opta stats
Derby and Swansea haven't met since March 2011, when the Rams won 2-1 in a Championship match.
Swansea have won just two of their last 13 games against Derby in all competitions (D5 L6).
Derby haven't lost any of their last 21 league matches in December (W14 D7) since a 0-2 defeat to Middlesbrough in December 2014.
Swansea have lost back-to-back league games and could lose three in a row at Championship level for the first time since August 2009 (four in succession).
Harry Wilson has scored in both of Derby's last two league games (two goals); he has never scored in three consecutive appearances in the EFL.
Four of Swansea's last six league goals have been scored by Oliver McBurnie.
Prutton's prediction
Frank Lampard would have been so disappointed with Derby's result in midweek. They were level against 10-man Stoke and seemingly had the game at their mercy, but they fell to defeat and now find themselves just outside the top six again.
Swansea had a couple of big home games in the week which presented them with a great chance to stake their own claims to move up the table, but they instead fell to disappointing defeats against Norwich and West Brom. I'm backing Derby to get back to winning ways at Pride Park.
David Prutton predicts: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
