3/1 To Win
Derby County’s Under-23s will be looking to build up some momentum when they get their Premier League Cup campaign underway against Birmingham City on Friday afternoon.
The Rams take on the Blues at the Birmingham County FA headquarters (kick-off: 1pm) and ahead of the meeting, dcfc.co.uk has pulled together all the information you are going to need to know ahead of kick-off…
WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS
As has been the case over the last few weeks, Derby County’s Under-23s could be bolstered with the inclusion of a couple of first team players looking to get minutes under their belts.
Jason Shackell and Ikechi Anya both played last Friday in the victory over Manchester United and they could be involved once again.
That aside, Darren Wassall has no new injury concerns.
Emil Riis Jakobsen is likely to be absent with an ankle injury, whilst Kyle McAllister also remains ruled out of action.
SETTING THE SCENE
Derby County’s Under-23s will be getting their Premier League Cup campaign off and underway when they face Birmingham City on Friday afternoon.
Darren Wassall’s side have been drawn to face the Blues, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough in Group A.
Similar to the UEFA Champions League format, the top two teams qualify for the knockout stages.
Ahead of their curtain-raiser, Wassall, Derby’s academy director, has challenged his players to build up some momentum.
The Rams make the short trip to the West Midlands off the back of their fine victory over Manchester United.
He told RamsTV: “We approach every game in the same way and talk about the standards that we expect.
“They (the players) know that Friday is an important game for them. We have challenged them to get themselves on a run.
“We have just come off the back of a brilliant victory over Manchester United and now it is time to find the consistency we need.
“Anybody can put one or two performances together, but what we want, to prove that they're capable of progressing to the next level, is whether they can do it over a period of five or six games at a time.
“That’s the challenge. It’s all well and good going to beat Manchester United. We don’t want to go and get beat by Birmingham City on Friday. The players know that.”
Click here to read Darren Wassall’s full pre-match interview on dcfc.co.uk now.
HOW CAN I ATTEND?
The Birmingham County FA have said that Derby County supporters can turn up to watch Friday’s Premier League Cup match FREE OF CHARGE.
HOW THE RAMS FARED LAST TIME OUT
MANCHESTER UNITED U23s 1-2 DERBY COUNTY U23s
Friday 22nd September 2017
Derby County’s Under-23s head into today’s game against Birmingham City off the back of their hard-earned 2-1 victory over Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village last Friday.
Goalless after the interval, Jason Shackell’s instinctive flick from a corner put the Rams in front, but Darren McIntosh-Buffonge levelled matters just minutes later by firing a cut back from the left beyond Josh Barnes.
Darren Wassall’s side held their nerve, though, and clinched a deserved winner with just over 10 minutes remaining as Offrande Zanzala headed a corner into the ground and into the back of the net.
Manchester United U23s: O’Hara, Riley, Mitchell, Warren, Olosunde (Kenyon,45), Whelan (Boonen, 80), Dearnley (Bohui, 64), Hamilton, McIntosh-Buffonge, Kehinde
Substitutes not used: Richardson, Sang
Derby County U23s: Barnes, Stabana, Macdonald, Bird, Wassall, Shackell, Thomas, Guy (Bateman, 68), Zanzala, Babos, Anya (Walker, 80)
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Cover, Karic
HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?
Rams supporters not attending Friday afternoon’s fixture will be able to keep up to date with the game’s key moments across our social media channels, whilst highlights and extended highlights will be available later in this evening across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV.
