3/1 To Win
Fourth meets fifth in the Sky Bet Championship this weekend and Derby County will be looking to put some ground between themselves and Aston Villa when the two clubs clash at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday.
The Rams will also be looking to secure a third successive win when they take on Steve Bruce’s side on Saturday (kick-off: 3pm) and dcfc.co.uk has collated all the information you need ahead of the visit of the Villans…
WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS
Gary Rowett has confirmed that he will be without Tom Lawrence for this weekend’s meeting with Aston Villa.
The 23-year-old Welsh international injured ligaments in his foot towards end of the first half of last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Barnsley at Oakwell – a game in which he opened the scoring.
The Derby boss is hopeful that Lawrence will return against Millwall next week, but that has opened the door for someone to step into his shoes against Villa this weekend.
Bradley Johnson and Johnny Russell are both chomping at the bit for returns and it is likely that one of those will feature from the start on Saturday.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY?
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of this weekend’s clash with Villa, Gary Rowett said: “This game will be an interesting one between two good teams although, if I am honest, I think it will be a cagey game and one where everyone, the team and the fans, might need to be patient.
“That’s not because I think Villa won’t come and attack, because I think that they will. I just don’t think it’ll be one of those games that opens up after five or ten minutes.
“I feel that they will be mindful of our pace in the forward areas so they won’t want to give us too much space. We’ll also have the same feelings about them with the quality they have in the attacking third such as Albert Adomah and Robert Snodgrass; they don’t concede many goals and can cause problems for any defence.
“There’s a lot of experience and know-how in the Championship in both squads and I think there are some similarities between us in terms of how we play.”
ONE TO WATCH
From the fringes to the star man, Albert Adomah has enjoyed some rise over the recent weeks and months to become Aston Villa’s star man.
In the absence of the injured Jonathan Kodjia, the former Middlesbrough wideman has picked up the baton when it comes to finding the back of the net 11 times in 19 matches in all competitions to lead the Villans’ scoring charts as we approach Christmas.
Described as Villa’s ‘surprise package’ in an interview we conducted with Birmingham Mail’s Mat Kendrick for this weekend’s edition of The Ram, his pace and trickery make him a real asset to Steve Bruce’s attacking options.
Adomah also has promotion knowhow behind him having played a key role in Middlesbrough’s promotion to the top flight at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
The Ghanaian international has also represented Bristol City, Barnet and Harrow Borough over the course of his career.
HOW DO I SECURE MY SEAT
The matchday ticket prices have been confirmed ahead of Derby County’s intriguing Sky Bet Championship top-six encounter against Aston Villa this afternoon.
There will be NO price increase ahead of the clash with Steve Bruce’s side, so tickets are available for Derby County supporters from:
Adults - £33
Senior Citizens (aged 65+) – £23.50
Under-18s - £18.50
2 to 12 Year Olds - £13.50
* Category D & E prices are listed above.
For matchday ticket enquiries and purchases, please visit the Ticket Office at Pride Park Stadium or call 0871 472 1884 (option 1).
Alternatively, supporters can also buy tickets online right here on dcfc.co.uk.
* Calls cost 13p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge.
* Calls cost 13p per minute, plus your phone company's access charge.
WHAT’S TO COME IN THE RAM
He’s a man in-form and after a series of Man of the Match displays and bagging his first goal of the season at Barnsley a week ago, Andreas Weimann stars as our featured interview in the Aston Villa edition of The Ram.
The 26-year-old, who comes face-to-face with his former club for the first time since leaving in 2015 this weekend, took time out to speak about growing up in Austria, his time at Derby County so far, his love for NFL and his form over the last few weeks.
Jam-packed with more exclusive features and content, supporters, as ever, can purchase a copy of our award-winning official matchday programme, which retails at just £3 from all around Pride Park Stadium.
Click here for a review of what else you can expect to find in our latest edition of The Ram.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME?
DERBY COUNTY 0-0 ASTON VILLA
Saturday 20th August 2016
Derby County battled out a goalless draw with newly relegated Aston Villa when these two sides last met at Pride Park Stadium in August 2016.
How that was the case after this 90 minutes was anyone’s guess. The Rams were indebted to the woodwork on two occasions and a goalline clearance to prevent Villa from breaking the deadlock.
Far better in the second half, the Rams penned Roberto Di Matteo’s side back, but could not force a breakthrough as both sides settled for a hard-earned point – let’s hope we are seeing goals this time around however!
Derby County: Carson, Christie, Keogh (C), Shackell, Forsyth (Baird, 66); Hughes, Ince (Bent, 77), Bryson, Butterfield (Camara, 46), Russell; Martin
Substitutes not used: Grant, Johnson, Pearce, Blackman
Aston Villa: Gollini, Elphick (C), Bacuna, Ayew, Chester, Gestede (Kozak, 28) (Green, 84), Westwood, Gardner, Cissokho, Grealish (Amavi, 84), McCormack
Substitutes not used: Baker, Richards, Hutton, Bunn
Attendance: 31,205 (3,070 away supporters)
WHO’S THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE?
Lee Probert has been appointed as the Match Referee for Derby County's Sky Bet Championship home fixture against Aston Villa at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Probert has officiated 14 first-team games so far this term across the Premier League and EFL, from which he has produced a total of 23 yellow and four red cards.
This will be the second time that he has officiated a Rams game this season. He was in charge of Derby's 2-0 home defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers back in August.
Probert will be assisted by Andrew Garratt and Daniel Hobathan on the lines, whilst Simon Hooper has been appointed as the fourth official.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Supporters based outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland will be able to watch every kick of the action as Derby look to further strengthen their position in the play-off spots against fellow promotion hopefuls Villa this weekend.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s coming up on RamsTV:
FRIDAY
- Pre-Match Press Conference (LIVE) (8.45am approx.) – Gary Rowett’s pre-match press conference will be broadcast live from the Rams’ Moor Training Centre on Derby County’s Facebook page.
- Aston Villa Preview Show (6pm) - Owen Bradley will be joined by former Rams stars and club ambassadors, Shane Nicholson and Roger Davies, as they look ahead to Saturday afternoon’s top-six clash with Aston Villa.
SATURDAY
- Matchday Live: Derby County v Aston Villa (14.15pm) - Owen Bradley will be joined by Michael Johnson and Darius Vassell LIVE from Pride Park Stadium as they build-up to the game between the Rams and Villa. They’ll be going through all the key stats and talking points as well introducing an exclusive pre-match interview from Rams boss, Gary Rowett.
- International RamsTV subscribers will be able to watch the full game with live commentary and half-time and full-time analysis from the RamsTV studio.
- Post-Match Extra: Aston Villa (17.30pm approx.) – Shane Nicholson will join Owen Bradley LIVE on Derby County’s official Facebook page to discuss all the key talking points from the game as well as live reaction from members of the Derby County squad.
SUNDAY
- Full Match Highlights: Derby County Vs Aston Villa (12pm) - RamsTV will have all the goals, incidents and key match action from the match the day before.
- Matchday Relived: Derby County Vs Aston Villa (6pm) - Finish off your weekend by watching RamsTV’s full coverage of Saturday afternoon’s match, including pre-game build-up, full match action, half time and full-time analysis and post-match reaction.
MONDAY
- Aston Villa Review Show (6pm) - Owen Bradley, Marc Edworthy and Roy McFarland will review all the key talking points from Saturday’s clash with Villa.
The RamsTV streaming service is available to all supporters who register on dcfc.co.uk.
To access the full RamsTV streaming service will cost the following:
First-Team Match Streaming (outside UK) - £110 annual subscription or £12.50 per month
First-Team Audio Commentary (worldwide) - £45 annual subscription or £5 per month
First-Team Pay Per Game - Match Streaming (outside UK) - £5 for the individual game
A link to packages can be found here.
The two premium services are in addition to the regular pre-match and post-match interviews on RamsTV.
Supporters will also be able to follow all of the action, as usual, across our social media channels.
We will be providing behind the scenes content across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where we will also provide a blow-by-blow account of proceedings at Pride Park Stadium.
