Hull City vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
MKM StadiumAttendance18,026.
Sunday 24 December 2017 14:16, UK
Czech defender Ondrej Mazuch will miss Hull's clash with Derby.
Mazuch limped out of Saturday's loss with Leeds with a hamstring injury and manager Nigel Adkins has said Michael Hector will drop back into the centre of defence. Kevin Stewart came off the bench at Elland Road after a spell out and could be in line to play a greater part, as could Markus Henriksen.
Leading scorer Jarrod Bowen could well find himself back in the starting line-up too after a substitute role at Leeds following a knee problem.
After naming an unchanged team on Saturday, Derby boss Gary Rowett is expected to make some changes at the KCOM Stadium. Rowett has a full squad available and a wealth of options open to him with Andre Wisdom, Johnny Russell, Chris Martin, Sam Winnall and Tom Lawrence among the substitutes for the 3-0 home win against Millwall.
Lawrence was back in the squad after an ankle injury and, after not making it on to the pitch on Saturday, the midfielder will be keen to be involved on Boxing Day. Meanwhile, the likes of Darren Bent, Jason Shackell, Ikechi Anya, Marcus Olsson and Alex Pearce were left out against Millwall and present further options for Rowett.
The last five matches in all competitions between these teams have all been victories by more than one goal to nil - Hull have won one (3-0) and Derby have won four (2-0 twice, 4-0 and 5-0).
In league matches not including play-offs, Derby have won their last three against Hull by an aggregate score of 11-0, winning 5-0 at the iPro Stadium in September this season.
Bradley Johnson has had a hand in five goals in his last two league matches (excluding play-offs) against Hull (four goals, one assist), scoring a brace in Derby's 5-0 win this season.
Hull have won two of their last three league games on Boxing Day, as many as in the previous eight combined.
