It’s nearly here! Derby County will get their new Sky Bet Championship season underway against Sunderland on Friday night,
The Rams travel to the Stadium of Light to face the Black Cats – fresh off the back of their relegation from the Premier League last campaign – and ahead of the match, dcfc.co.uk has pulled together all the key information you are going to need to know…
WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS?
Gary Rowett will have a near fully fit squad to call upon when Derby County travel to face Sunderland for their Sky Bet Championship opener.
The Rams’ newest recruits – Curtis Davies, Andre Wisdom and Tom Huddlestone – are all in line to make their competitive debuts.
The only players that Rowett, the Derby manager, will be without are Darren Bent, George Thorne, Jason Shackell and Max Lowe.
WHAT DID THE BOSS HAVE TO SAY?
Speaking ahead of Friday’s trip to the Stadium of Light, Gary Rowett told RamsTV: “From afar I am sure Simon has gone in there and tried to work out very quickly who wants to be there, so there has been some change – but that’s not for me to comment on.
“We’ve had change of our own here and we have to focus on what we do and how we prepare and approach the game.
“We are looking to go there, be positive and cause Sunderland lots of problems. We have to respect they have players that played in the Premier League last season so, regardless of the fact they were relegated they do have players of quality.
“We are going to have to be at our very best.”
WHO IS THE PLAYER TO WATCH?
After impressing Simon Grayson during a loan spell last season, Aiden McGeady has linked up with the former Preston North End manager once more and will be hoping to help him turn the tide at the Stadium of Light.
The midfielder completed his move to Sunderland from Everton on the same day former Rams forward James Vaughan also moved to Wearside.
A Republic of Ireland international, McGeady scored nine goals and provided a further eight assists while at Deepdale under Grayson’s stewardship, and that saw him named North End’s Player of the Year.
Born in Scotland, McGeady qualifies for the Republic of Ireland through his grandparents and is closing in on a century of international appearances.
He also boasts considerable experience at the domestic level, having made almost 200 appearances for Celtic after emerging through the youth system at Celtic Park.
McGeady then spent three-and-a-half years in Russia with Spartak Moscow before moving to Premier League side Everton in January 2014.
The winger spent time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday during the second half of the 2015/16 season prior to linking up with Preston, where he proved a popular figure.
HOW YOU CAN SECURE YOUR SEAT?
Supporters will be able to purchase tickets at the Stadium of Light for Derby County’s Sky Bet Championship fixture at Sunderland.
Tickets have been confirmed at the following prices:
Adults - £25
Senior Citizens (65+) - £19
Under-22s - £16
Under-16s - £10
* All children aged Under-12 must be accompanied by someone aged 18 or above.
Cash turnstile No.71 will be open for away supporters, with the full allocation being 2,979 seats.
Duplicate tickets, if requested, will be available from the collections point in the Ticket Office at Black Cat House, which is an administration building adjacent to the stadium.
Sunderland will be happy to help any Rams supporters who have any questions or ticket queries ahead of the game.
Full details can be found on their website, which is safc.com.
IMPORTANT PRE-MATCH INFORMATION…
Sunderland will hold a minute's applause in memory of Bradley Lowery before Friday's 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship opener against the Rams.
Thousands of people gathered in the city to mourn the young Sunderland fan at his funeral last month after he passed away following a brave battle with neuroblastoma.
The six-year-old, who captured the hearts of football players and fans across the world, will be remembered with a pre-match tribute as players, match officials and fans will be asked to join together in applause ahead of kick-off.
WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME WE MET AT THE STADIUM OF LIGHT?
SUNDERLAND 1-0 DERBY COUNTY
Saturday 2nd December 2007
The Rams’ last visit to the Stadium of Light came in 2007 when Sunderland substitute Anthony Stokes struck in stoppage time to earn his side a priceless victory.
Kenwyne Jones' header was saved by Derby ‘keeper Stephen Bywater but the 19-year-old Stokes reacted quickest to bundle home at the second attempt.
Jones hit the post in the first half shortly after Sunderland keeper Darren Ward saved a Kenny Miller shot.
Sunderland: Ward, Halford, McShane, Higginbotham, Collins, Edwards (Stokes, 78), Leadbitter (Miller, 83), Whitehead, Wallace, Jones, Cole (Chopra, 64)
Substitutes not used: Gordon, Harte
Derby County: Bywater, Griffin, Davis, Moore, McEveley, Teale (Leacock, 84), Oakley, Pearson, Barnes (Fagan, 70), Howard, Miller (Earnshaw, 86)
Substitutes not used: Price, Mears
Attendance: 42,380
WHO ARE THE MATCH OFFICIALS?
Oliver Langford will take charge of Derby County's 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship opener at Sunderland.
Langford oversaw 44 games last season in all competitions, producing a total of 129 yellow cards and five reds.
His last Derby game was the 3-0 home win over Rotherham United last November.
Langford will be assisted by Mark Russell and Steven Meredith on the lines, whilst Stephen Martin has been appointed as the Fourth Official.
HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?
From the 2017/18 season, supporters will be able to enjoy a far greater digital offering when it comes to following on Derby County every step of the way.
Over the summer, there has been significant enhancement of RamsTV after Derby chose to partner with StreamAMG, Europe’s premier online video specialist, to provide their own platform – rather than join the EFL’s digital streaming service, iFollow.
For 2017/18 and beyond, the club will be providing a streaming service which will be in line with the EFL’s price structure for those clubs who have remained in the new EFL Digital agreement.
The service on RamsTV will include:
* Live streaming of first-team Sky Bet Championship fixtures (with the exception of those selected for live TV coverage) for supporters based outside the UK – including a full Matchday Live show with exclusive interviews, expert analysis and match commentary.
* Full Matchday Live replay the day after each first-team fixture for supporters based in the UK.
* Live streaming of Under-23 matches with match commentary, both inside and outside the UK.
* Audio commentary of every first-team fixture for supporters worldwide.
Supporters were given a flavour of what they can expect after numerous trials were held over the course of pre-season and the club streamed all of its friendly matches LIVE.
With reference to this game, here’s a breakdown of what you can expect from our #SAFCvDCFC production:
- A preview show, hosted by Jack Woodward alongside special guests Darren Bent and Roy McFarland, that will be live from 6pm on Thursday 3rd across dcfc.co.uk.
- A pre-match show that will begin a 7:15pm. Darren Wassall and Marc Edworthy will join host Colin Gibson as live studio guests to discuss the game ahead and the team news coming out of the Stadium of Light.
- A pre-match interview with Gary Rowett ahead of kick-off.
- Listen to live audio commentary from BBC Radio Derby and follow all the action every step of the way.
- A live post-match show – starting at approximately 9:30pm – analysing all of the action, whilst reaction from Rowett and his players will be provided as soon as possible across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV.
- A review show, aired on Monday to reflect on the match at Sunderland with a first-team player as well as look ahead to Tuesday’s Carabao Cup game at Grimsby Town.
Match Highlights and the Matchday Live show will be available to view for supporters in the UK the day after each first-team fixture, as per with the EFL’s digital terms.
The new RamsTV streaming service is available to all supporters who resister on our new-look website dcfc.co.uk – which launched In June and has been developed with significant supporter input.
To access the full RamsTV streaming service will cost the following:
First-Team Match Streaming (outside UK) - £110 annual subscription or £12.50 per month
First-Team Audio Commentary (worldwide) - £45 annual subscription or £5 per month
A link to packages can be found here.
The two premium services are in addition to the regular pre-match and post-match interviews on RamsTV.
Supporters will also be able to follow all of the action, as usual, across our social media channels.
We will be providing behind the scenes content across Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, where we will also provide a blow-by-blow account of proceedings at the Stadium of Light.