The latest chapter of Derby County’s promotion race takes centre stage on Wednesday night with a trip to Wycombe Wanderers.
Derby County had a rare weekend away from League One action as tomorrow’s opponents Wycombe Wanderers lost against Peterborough United in the EFL Trophy final on Sunday.
The Rams saw their cushion of four points get slashed to just one as Bolton Wanderers secured a 2-0 victory away at Bristol Rovers. It means that Paul Warne‘s men are hanging onto second by a thread, but they can apply further pressure onto the chasing pack by beating the Chair Boys.
A win would not only re-establish their four-point lead on Bolton but with the Trotters facing Portsmouth on Saturday, a chance to take a giant leap towards Championship football.
Derby County injury news
Injuries have been a huge problem for Derby throughout this campaign and it feels like Warne has never had a fully fit squad to select from.
That remains the case ahead of their trip to Adams Park with as many as seven players currently sidelined following the news that Tom Barkhuizen and Max Bird could feature tomorrow night.
The current list of absentees includes Dwight Gayle, Craig Forsyth, Ryan Nyambe, Tyreece John-Jules, Jake Rooney and Callum Elder while Joe Ward may also join that six.
After scoring two goals against Portsmouth last week, Ward suffered a knock to his knee and was taken off as a precaution.
Richie Barker has confirmed he’s being assessed ahead of their trip to Wycombe, which puts his place in the squad at risk.
Here’s how Derby could line up against Wycombe…
Derby County predicted XI v Wycombe
Joe Wildsmith has made several outstanding saves recently, with the 28-year-old keeping his place in between the sticks.
Warne has had joy reverting to a back four consisting of Kane Wilson, Eiran Cashin, Curtis Nelson and Louie Sibley. That should be no different against Wycombe, especially following their performance as a unit against Pompey.
READ MORE: Derby County star Eiran Cashin’s journey from almost released to Premier League transfer interest
A midfield duo of Ebou Adams and Korey Smith has been preferred, with Adams hailed for his “immense” display in last week’s draw.
An aggressive midfield base has contributed to their attacking freedom as Corey Blackett-Taylor played his best game in a Derby shirt against Pompey. The 26-year-old assisted Ward for his opener and was a constant threat throughout.
Sadly, Ward’s place in the team is at risk due to injury, which could see Nathaniel Mendez-Laing move to the right with Conor Washington partnering James Collins.
Hailed for his “quality” by Shaun Barker back in November, Washington has yet to rediscover his scoring touch following injury however, playing alongside Collins could be the perfect chance for him.
Derby County (4-4-2): Wildsmith; Wilson, Cashin, Nelson, Sibley; Adams, Smith, Mendez-Laing, Blackett-Taylor; Washington, Collins.
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