Phillip Cocu says Derby County must show confidence in their own qualities when they face Sheffield Wednesday in their latest Sky Bet Championship clash.
Cocu’s side will take on the Owls under the Pride Park Stadium floodlights on this evening (7:45pm kick-off) in their final midweek fixture before Christmas.
It promises to be a mouthwatering encounter as Derby look to extend their unbeaten run on home turf to nine matches.
Their record at Pride Park will be given with a thorough examination by Garry Monk’s side, who moved into the Championship’s top six at the weekend as they came from behind to defeat Brentford 2-1 at Hillsborough.
Cocu says Derby have the ability to rise to the challenge and, having played their best football on home turf so far this season, he knows what they are capable of.
“Sheffield Wednesday are a good team and are well balanced,” said Cocu when speaking to RamsTV.
“They have good dynamics with strong players up-front and also speedy wingers.
“They can play. In some games they really play good combination football and in others I have seen they can play quite direct in how they approach the game.”
He added: “We don’t face an easy game and we have to respect the qualities of Sheffield Wednesday, but we also need to show confidence in our own qualities in our game, especially when we play at Pride Park.”
From their last eight games at Pride Park, Derby have won five and drawn three and have tasted defeat on home turf just once so far in the current campaign.