Derby County will take a brief
break from Sky Bet Championship action when they make the trip to the capital
to take on Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Third Round of the
Emirates FA Cup on Sunday afternoon (2:01pm kick-off).
Phillip Cocu’s side will, no doubt, look forward to the prospect of testing themselves against top-flight opposition at Selhurst Park in their first away game of 2020.
dcfc.co.uk has gathered all the information you will need ahead of the meeting with the Eagles.
TEAM NEWS…
Attacker Tom Lawrence is available for selection once again after completing the two-match ban, for ten bookings so far this season, which saw him miss the home matches against Charlton Athletic and Barnsley either side of the New Year.
Midfielder Krystian Bielik is, however, still suspended after seeing red in the home game against Charlton at the end of December and the game at Selhurst Park will be the second of his three-match ban.
MIdfielder Tom Huddlestone is continuing to make good progress on the road to recovery after sustaining a hamstring injury at the start of October and could potentially return to the squad after resuming training.
After a demanding league programme over the Christmas period, manager Phillip Cocu could shuffle his pack and make changes to the side in order to give some members of his side a rest, as well as match minutes for others.
Wayne Rooney, fresh from making his Derby debut against Barnsley on Thursday, could play some part as he looks to increase his match sharpness.
Graeme Shinnie (hamstring), Mason Bennett (ankle), George Evans (calf) and Ikechi Anya (calf) remain sidelined.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY…
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the game, manager Phillip Cocu said: “I’m looking forward to the game and I used to watch, on many occasions, the FA Cup on the television.
“There is a tradition in the competition, which I like, and there’s a lot of history in the FA Cup. I am happy to be part of it now.
“It is a great tournament and a great cup. We are facing a Premier League club in an away game, which is difficult, but we have nothing to lose and we will fight for the best result we can get.
“I am sure it will be a good experience for our team.”
He added: “If you look at Palace’s team and the players they have, and playing at home, it will be a challenge. We will try to move on to the next round and we won’t play to go home empty handed.”
More pre-match comments from
the Derby boss ahead of Sunday's tie can be found across dcfc.co.uk and
also on RamsTV..
TICKET INFORMATION…
Tickets are available to buy on General Sale (one ticket per Fan ID) until 2pm on Saturday.
Derby have been allocated 3,967 tickets for this match in total and in excess of 2,000 tickets have been sold.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: £15
Seniors (65+): £10
Under 18s (2-17)*: £5
* Supporters aged 14 and below must be accompanied by someone aged 18 or above.
A £1 per ticket booking fee will be payable for all tickets purchased online or over the phone, while a £1 per transaction delivery fee will be payable if tickets are requested to be posted.
Supporters can buy their tickets from the Ticket Office at Pride Park Stadium by calling 0871 472 1884 (option 1) ^ or online right here on dcfc.co.uk.
To become an Away Membership Holder for the 2019/20 campaign and ensure you are in line to purchase away tickets first, visit: dcfc.co.uk/toptix/memberships.
^ Calls cost 13p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge.
Matchday Tickets
Supporters will also be able to purchase tickets on arrival at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
There's a matchday ticket price increase of £5 in all categories, with tickets will be on sale from 11:30am
from the E4 Box Office situated on the corner of Park Road and Holmesdale Road,
with cash and card payments accepted.
Matchday ticket prices are as follows:
Adults: £20
Seniors (65+): £15
Under 18s (2-17)*: £10
* Supporters aged 14 and below must be accompanied by someone aged 18 or above.
VAR…
The FA have confirmed that video assistant referees (VARs) and assistant video assistant referees (AVARs) will be in place for all ties staged at top-flight stadiums across the Third, Fourth and Fifth rounds of this season's Emirates FA Cup.
Derby’s Carabao Cup ties at Manchester United and Chelsea last season, as well as the FA Cup clashes at Southampton and Brighton & Hove Albion, were matches were VARs were used.
WHO’S THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Michael Oliver will take charge of the game at Selhurst Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Premier League official has handed out 87 yellow cards and one red card in 22 games across all competitions this season to date.
Oliver's last Derby fixture was the 2-0 Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg victory at Hull City at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
He will be assisted by Simon Bennett and Sam Lewis on the lines, whilst Antony Coggins has been appointed as the fourth official.
The VAR official on the day will be David Coote, while the Assistant VAR official has been confirmed as Constantine Hatzidakis.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE GAME…
RamsTV will be LIVE on Facebook from 12pm on Sunday with ‘The Warm Up’ as Owen Bradley is joined by former Rams Marc Edworthy and Shane Nicholson to help preview the game at Selhurst Park.
The trio will be LIVE on Facebook again after the game with ‘Added Time’ to bring you all the reaction from Derby’s Third Round tie with Palace, including interviews from manager Phillip Cocu and members of his first team squad.
Due to FA Cup broadcasting regulations RamsTV will not be able to broadcast a live video stream the game, although a live audio feed with commentary of the game will be available to all RamsTV subscribers.
Fans can catch up with all the action from midday on Monday when full highlights of the match will be available on dcfc.co.uk and Derby County’s official YouTube Channel. UK-based subscribers will also be able to watch a full match recording from Monday.
HEADS UP…
The Football Association recently announced that all Emirates FA Cup Third Round fixtures will
be delayed by one minute to encourage fans to ‘Take A Minute’ to think
about looking after their mental health, as part of the Heads Up
campaign.
The move will see all 32 ties, excluding replays, kick-off one minute later than their traditionally scheduled broadcast and non-broadcast timeslots, for example 3:01pm, 12:16pm and 7:46pm.
It is hoped that the initiative will raise awareness of the importance of looking after our mental health, with 60 seconds representing just the first step in the journey to improved wellbeing. During the minute delay, fans will be encouraged to consider the positive impact 60 seconds can have on their own wellbeing or in supporting a friend or family member.
Heads Up is partnering with Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters across the Emirates FA Cup Third Round to draw attention to the simple steps we can all take to look after our mental health and wellbeing. The partnership will signpost to the free, online Every Mind Matters resources and ‘Your Mind Plan’ tool, which fans can use to create a personal mental health action plan, providing them with a tailored set of simple self-care actions. In conjunction with Heads Up charity partners Mind, CALM, Heads Together and Sporting Chance, fans will also be provided helpful tips and advice on how they can approach managing their mental health.
Messaging will be visible across the weekend of fixtures, both in the stadia and for the millions watching from home.
Spearheaded by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, the Heads Up campaign harnesses the influence and popularity of football to encourage more people – particularly men – to feel comfortable talking about, and taking action to improve, their mental health and to recognise that mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness.
For more information on the Heads Up campaign visit – TheFA.com/HeadsUp and headstogether.org.uk/heads-up. Fans can also search ‘Every Mind Matters’ to create their own personal mental health action plan.
Those in need of immediate support can text ‘HeadsUp’ to 85258 to be connected to a trained crisis counsellor. This service is available 24/7, and free to text from most mobile networks.