3/1 To Win
After getting back to winning ways last time out against Burton Albion, the challenge for Gary Rowett’s side now is to continue their fine form on the road.
With three victories from their last four games, the fortunes of the Rams going into the festive period look positive. Barnsley is now the next test for Derby and dcfc.co.uk have pulled together all the information you need to know ahead of the game.
WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS
Tom Lawrence is the only doubt ahead of the Rams’ trip to Oakwell as he continues to struggle with a quadricep injury.
Other than that, Rowett faces some difficult team selections ahead and will once again have a squad with a clean bill of health to choose from, although he gave no hints about who will start the game.
The Derby boss said: “The most challenging bit for me is not necessarily picking the team, it’s picking the matchday 18 because the players always feel the same.
“If they are suddenly out the 18, psychologically that feels like a massive blow to them. It happened to Alex Pearce on Saturday and what the players have to understand is that the substitutes bench is there for impact.
“As we have seen with (Marcus) Olsson and (Craig) Forsyth, in particular, they have gone from being out of the 18 to being straight in the XI.
“If they are not in the 18, it is not the end of the world. It doesn’t stop them starting games, but when you have got 25 fit players you are always going to have seven of them disappointed.”
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY?
Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the game, Gary Rowett said: “As a manager, I will never think that the contrasting forms will shape the game. They will be a team full of energy and they will start the game full of energy – regardless if they have lost the last four games.
“It will be about us navigating some of those difficult moments, but also the fact that we have won seven out of 10 and are unbeaten six away from home, means we will go there full of confidence.
“We will go to implement our game plan, but they have got a fantastic coach in Paul Heckingbottom and as I say, they are more than capable of turning any team over.
“We will be really positive, and we will be aiming to continue this reasonable run of form that we are in, but that won’t happen if we don’t show the qualities that we have been.
“You can’t live off past glories or past games, you have got to keep churning out performances right from the start.”
ONE TO WATCH
In his past two seasons with the Tykes, Adam Hammill has managed to establish himself as an integral part of Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
A wideman by trade, Hammill began his varied career as a youth player at Liverpool and had a loan spell at Barnsley in 2009, after previous temporary stints at Blackpool and Southampton.
Hammill’s move to Barnsley soon became permanent and he stayed there until 2011before a second permanent move to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It was a move, though, that didn’t quite work out the way he planned as the attacker only made 23 appearances over the course of two seasons.
Respective loan spells followed for Hammill at Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, until the 29-year-old signed for the latter club in 2015.
Hammill featured for Huddersfield a total of 50 times before returning to Barnsley in 2015 and has since been a big hit for the Tykes having already featured for Heckingbottom’s side for a total of 21 times in all competitions this campaign.
HOW DO I SECURE MY SEAT?
Tickets for Derby County’s 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship fixture at Barnsley this afternoon (3pm kick-off) will be available on arrival at Oakwell.
Supporters had the chance to pre-purchase tickets in advance of the fixture before they went off sale on Friday afternoon.
There will be a £2 pay increase on the day, but Rams fans will only be able to pay in cash only to secure their ticket at the North Stand turnstiles – whilst supporters who are collecting their match or duplicate tickets are advised to head to the South Stand Main Reception.
Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults - £25
All Concessions - £18*
*No junior price is available on arrival at Oakwell.
LAST TIME OUT AT OAKWELL
Barnsley 3-2 Derby County
Tuesday 12th September 2017
Derby County bowed out of the Carabao Cup in the second round after a late strike from Adam Hammill meant the Rams suffered a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Barnsley at Oakwell.
Result aside, Gary Rowett was able to hand George Thorne his first competitive start in over a year, whilst Academy pair Max Bird and Callum Guy made their senior debuts in South Yorkshire.
In an action-packed first 45 minutes, as little as three minutes had passed before the deadlock was very nearly broken by the hosts after Harvey Barnes, the on loan Leicester City man, struck the crossbar with force from the edge of the box.
Barnsley: Davies, McCarthy, Jackson, Pinnock, Pearson, Williams, Barnes, Potts (McGeehan, 88), Moncur (Thiam, 66), Hedges (Hammill, 61), Bradshaw
Substitutes not used: Townsend, Lindsay, Bird, Ugbo
Derby County: Mitchell, Wisdom, Pearce, Shackell, Forsyth; Thorne, Bird (Guy, 81); Anya, Russell, Bennett (Lawrence, 82); Martin
Substitutes not used: Roos, Baird, Keogh, Vydra, Nugent
WHO’S THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE?
Tim Robinson will be the man in the middle when Derby County face Barnsley in the Sky Bet Championship this weekend, kick-off: 3pm.
Robinson has officiated 23 games so far this term across the EFL, from which he has produced 73 yellow and nine red cards.
This will be the first time that he has officiated a Rams game this season – his last game back in April of this year when Gary Rowett’s side faced Brentford at Griffin Park.
In total, Robinson has taken charge of four matches involving Derby ahead of the weekend.
He will be assisted by David Avent and Andrew Fox on the lines, whilst Ben Toner has been appointed as the fourth official.
HOW CAN I 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 take on the Tykes at Oakwell.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s coming up on RamsTV:
THURSDAY
- Pre-Barnsley Interviews (6pm) - RamsTV will have exclusive interviews with Derby County Manager, Gary Rowett and Andreas Weimann ahead of the trip to face Barnsley.
- The Last Three (6:30pm) – Take a look at the last three clashes between the Rams and the Tykes including an entertaining, if ultimately disappointing, 3-2 defeat in the Carabao Cup earlier this season.
- Fan Cam: Barnsley (7pm) – Kim Birtwistle and the RamsTV cameras will be out and about in Derby again to find out how Derby fans think their team will get on at Oakwell.
FRIDAY
- Pre-Match Press Conference (LIVE) (8:45am approx.) – Gary Rowett’s pre-match press conference will be broadcast live from the Rams’ Moor Farm training centre on Derby County’s Facebook page.
- Barnsley Preview Show (6pm) - Owen Bradley will be joined by former Rams stars and club ambassadors, Shane Nicholson and Roy McFarland, as they look ahead to Saturday afternoon’s clash with Barnsley.
SATURDAY
- Matchday Live: Derby County U18s v Man City U18s (11:50am) – RamsTV will provide the perfect warm up to the first team’s game on Saturday by broadcasting the entirety of the Under-18s’ league clash with Manchester City.
- Matchday Live: Barnsley v Derby County (14:15pm) - Owen Bradley will be joined by Michael Johnson and Robin van der Laan for live build-up to the Rams’ trip to Barnsley. Broadcast LIVE from the RamsTV studio, the show will feature stats, analysis and an exclusive pre-match interview with 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: Barnsley (5:30pm approx.) – RamsTV presenter Owen Bradley and former Ram, Shane Nicholson, will take to Facebook Live to share your thoughts and present post-match reaction from the game at Oakwell.
SUNDAY
- Full Match Highlights: Barnsley v Derby County (12pm) - RamsTV will have all the goals, incidents and key match action from the match the day before.
- Matchday Relived: Barnsley v Derby County (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
- Barnsley Review Show (6pm) - Owen Bradley, Roger Davies and Roy McFarland will review all the key talking points from Saturday’s game at Barnsley.
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 Oakwell.
