Derby County’s Under-23s are back
in action on Monday night when they face Charlton Athletic in their latest Premier League Cup Group C fixture.
The Under-23s will face Charlton at Loughborough University Stadium (7pm kick-off) and dcfc.co.uk has brought together all the key information you will need to know ahead of the game.
Premier League Cup Format
Mirroring the format of the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League Cup consists of eight four-team groups, with each club playing their opposing teams both home and away.
It's the first Premier League Cup campaign since 2019/20, when the competition was curtailed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it includes Academies from Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Clubs in the third and fourth categories have been competing in qualifiers to join the top-level Academies in the group stage.
Derby County have been drawn in Group C alongside Charlton Athletic, Norwich City and Reading and the full fixture list can be found here.
Team News
Pat Lyons has no fresh injury concerns for the meeting with the Addicks from their 1-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend.
Kornell McDonald, Jordan Brown, Isaac Hutchinson, Liam Thompson and Eiran Cashin have been training with Derby's first-team this term but have been available for the Under-23s on a number of occasions and could feature, while Festy Ebosele and Dylan Williams may get run-outs to maintain match sharpness.
Derby will be without young winger Tyree Wilson after he
suffered a knee injury in the early stages of the Under-23s’ 2-0 loss to Brighton & Hove
Albion in August. He was carried off on a stretcher and is now working on his rehabilitation work to return to fitness in the months ahead.
Pre-Match Views - Coaching Staff
Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Pat Lyons spoke to RamsTV ahead of the clash with the Addicks and said: “It’s a cup game and it’s been quite a while since we’ve faced Charlton, who are coming into this tie after getting a win earlier in the competition against Reading.
“We are expecting a physical and tough challenge. We were 3-1 up at Norwich in our opening cup game and drew 3-3, so we want to get that first win in the competition on the board and we’ll give everything to do that.
“Charlton are a Category Two Academy, and this competition brings variety in our opponents. They have always produced good young players and it’ll be a test for us.
“We have to make sure we build on our recent performances. We were very good out of possession at Manchester City in our last league game, which was a 1-0 defeat, and they were a side that had averaged three goals a game so far this season. We didn’t turn our opportunities on the transition into chances, but the performance was encouraging and competitive.”
Lyons added: “We’ve found ourselves chasing games against some of the bigger clubs and that’s something we need to avoid. For example, against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City we’ve conceded early on, when really we need to grow into things and try and get that first goal.”
Pre-Match Views - Players' Perspective
Under-23s midfielder Connor Dixon also spoke to RamsTV ahead of the cup clash and said: “The lads are feeling good. We had a few days to rest and recover after the Manchester City game last weekend and we’ve been training well since then.
“We were devasted not to get something out of that game, losing 1-0, and we know we need to be more ruthless against the top sides.
“The season so far has been frustrating because we know we should have got more points in the league from our performances. We’ll keep working hard to turn that around.”
He added: “This is a cup game against Charlton and we want to win; it’ll be an interesting challenge for us and we’d love a good run in the competition.
“We were 3-1 up at Norwich in our first group game in the Premier League Cup and ended up drawing 3-3 when we should really have won, so we know we need to be more resilient. If we can get a win on Monday, four points from two matches would be a good return.”
The Premier League Cup So Far
Derby's Under-23s' first Premier League Cup outing of the season saw them play out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Norwich City last month, despite leading 3-1 going into the closing stages.
Osazee Aghatise, Bartosz Cybulski and trialist Ali Al Hamadi were on target against the Canaries as Derby's Group C campaign began with a draw.
In the Premier League 2 - Division 1 standings the Rams are at the foot of the table with one win and five defeats from their opening six league fixtures this term.
Charlton Athletic's Under-23s play in Under-23 Professional Development League 2 (Southern Section) and have picked up two wins, two defeats and a draw from their five league games.
In the Premier League Cup, they were 3-0 winners over Reading in their opening group game in September with James Vennings, Euan Williams and Johl Powell the goalscorers.
Live Stream
RamsTV will be streaming the game live for supporters to watch online.
In a change to the previous offering to supporters, this is available to Derby County Membership Holders and RamsTV subscribers.
Membership Holders will be sent a code to redeem to watch this season’s matches, while RamsTV subscribers simply need to log-in to their account.
Derby County Membership packages can be found here: membership.dcfc.co.uk/home and any queries should be sent to membership.help@dcfc.co.uk.
RamsTV subscription options can be found here: dcfc.co.uk/page/ramstv-live-streaming and any queries should be sent to academystream@dcfc.co.uk.
Ticket Information
Derby County’s Under-23s will continue to play most of their home fixtures for the 2021/22 season at Loughborough University.
Supporters will once again be able to attend the matches and tickets can be purchased in advance of each fixture from the Loughborough Sport website.
Advanced purchases are advised, and all tickets will be for the terracing areas of Loughborough University Stadium.
Tickets are priced as follows:
Season Ticket Holders: FREE (all Season Ticket Holders have been emailed a 2021/22 'proof of purchase' to show on arrival)
Advance Purchases: Adult £3.50, Concessions £1.50 (these include online booking fees)
Matchday Purchases: Adult £5, Concessions £2.50
* The doors will open for each match from 30 minutes before kick-off.
Stadium Address: Loughborough University Stadium, Loughborough, LE11 3TL.
Tickets for all of Derby County Under-23s’ fixtures at Loughborough University Stadium can be purchased here: loughboroughsport.ticketline.co.uk/derby-county-fc-u23.