Derby County vs Sheffield Wednesday. Sky Bet Championship.
Pride Park StadiumAttendance26,203.
Watch live on Sky Sports Action from 7.40pm on Wednesday; Kick-off is at 7.45pm
Tuesday 10 December 2019 22:42, UK
Derby face Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Action.
Phillip Cocu has no fresh injury problems as Derby attempt to extend an eight-game unbeaten home run when Sheffield Wednesday visit Pride Park on Wednesday evening. Krystian Bielik has been playing with a hip problem but his early exit from Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Blackburn was a tactical decision.
Fellow midfielders Ikechi Anya (calf) and Tom Huddlestone (hamstring) are closing in on returns, but will not be rushed back. However, another midfielder, Graeme Shinnie, (hamstring) and striker Mason Bennett (ankle) are expected to be out for several months with injuries sustained during the 1-0 home win over Preston on November 23, while defender Matt Clarke continues to work his way back from a knee problem.
Owls boss Garry Monk will be without striker Fernando Forestieri due to a knee injury which has proved more serious than first thought. Forestieri was initially expected to be sidelined for up to 10 days after limping out of the 3-1 win at Charlton on November 30, but he could now be missing for longer.
Keeper Keiren Westwood will continue to be assessed as he fights his way back from a shoulder problem picked up at the end of last month. However, full-back Liam Palmer returns to contention after completing a three-match ban following his red card at West Brom.
Derby's inconsistencies have been highlighted over the last few weeks, with defeats to Fulham and Blackburn coming either side of a draw with QPR and a 1-0 win at home to Preston.
Meanwhile, after a five-match winless streak, Wednesday have highlighted their promotion credentials with a 3-1 win at Charlton and a 2-1 win against Brentford at Hillsborough.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu: "We have two games inside four days at Pride Park and it is a good opportunity for us to continue the positive streak we have in the home games. Of course, we will do everything in our power to get another home win on Wednesday night.
"If we can pull it off, it will help the fans to look forward to the Saturday game against Millwall. For myself, as a manager, sometimes it is good to have a bit more time on training, but players look forward to playing games every few days. It is positive to play a lot of games and I am looking forward to it."
Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk: TBC
It's been an indifferent campaign at Pride Park so far, but a significant part of the reason Phillip Cocu's side are during riding such a roller coaster is their lack of potency in attack, in addition to their struggles on the road
For context, they've scored just seven goals in their last 10 and just three players have scored more than once all season. At the time of writing, only Wigan (18) and Middlesbrough (17) have scored less and for a side no doubt targeting a promotion challenge, that's simply not good enough.
Derby County are unbeaten in their last 11 home matches against Sheffield Wednesday in all competitions (W7 D4 L0).
Sheffield Wednesday have won two of their last 20 league matches against Derby (W2 D7 L11).
Derby have lost five of their last nine league games (W3 D1), though they haven't lost back-to-back Championship matches since a run of three in March.
Sheffield Wednesday are looking to secure three consecutive Championship victories for the first time since September 2018.
Derby are the only Championship side yet to score a headed goal this season.
Sheffield Wednesday have the oldest average starting XI in the Championship this season, with their combined average age coming in at 28y 166d.
One word sums up Derby's campaign to date: Inconsistency. Since October 19, bizarrely, they've lost every other league game without scoring a goal. Losing by the odd goal to Blackburn at the weekend was nothing to be ashamed of but they need to string a sequence of wins together if they have any hopes of making a dart for the play-offs.
I really liked the look of Wednesday against Brentford at Hillsborough and thought they were good value for the win in the end. Steven Fletcher is just four away from his best-ever scoring return and could be the difference for them here.
David Prutton predicts: 1-2 (17/2 with Sky Bet)
