Derby County’s Under-23s are back
in action on Monday night when they face Reading in their latest Premier League Cup Group C fixture.
The Under-23s will face Reading 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 are in Group C alongside Charlton Athletic, Norwich City and Reading and the full fixture list can be found here.
Team News...
Kornell McDonald, Louie Watson, Jack Stretton, Dylan Williams, 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.
Jordan Brown and Tyree Wilson (both knee) are out of action and not available for selection.
Pre-Match Views - Coaching Staff...
Senior Professional Development Phase Coach Pat Lyons spoke to RamsTV ahead of the clash with the Royals - with the full video available below.
Pre-Match Views - Players' Perspective...
Under-23s goalkeeper Harrison Foulkes also spoke to RamsTV ahead of the cup clash - with his pre-match views available to watch in the below video.
The Premier League Cup So Far...
Derby's Under-23s' are top of Group C after two matches in this season's Premier League Cup.
They played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Norwich City in September, despite leading 3-1 going into the closing stages.
Osazee Aghatise, Bartosz Cybulski and trialist Ali Al Hamadi
were on target in the draw against the Canaries.
Pat Lyons' side then followed that draw up with a 2-1 success against Charlton Athletic at Loughborough University Stadium last month.
Luke Plange tapped home from a few yards out just before half-time to open the scoring before Louie Watson blasted home a superb effort from the edge of the box with just over 20 minutes remaining to double their lead.
It wasn’t straightforward for the Rams, however, as they had to see out the latter part of the game with ten men after defender Max Bardell was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Ben Dempsey hauled Charlton back into the game soon after Bardell’s dismissal and that meant it was a case of all hands on deck late on - but Derby got themselves over the line.
Reading's Under-23s compete in Premier League 2 - Division 2 and sit 13th, one place of the bottom of the standings, with two wins, three draws and five defeats from their opening ten league matches this term.
In the Premier League Cup they have recorded one win and one defeat from their two matches to date.
They were beaten 3-0 at Charlton Athletic in their opening Group C match in September, before defeating Norwich City 3-2 on home turf last month.
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.