Everything You Need To Know About The Rams’ Clash With The Bees

The first in back-to-back home matches, Derby County return to Pride Park Stadium this weekend to face in-form Brentford with the mission of returning to winning ways.

The Rams will be looking to cement their position in the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion positions (kick-off: 3pm) and dcfc.co.uk has collated all the information you need ahead of the visit of Dean Smith’s men…

WHAT’S THE LATEST TEAM NEWS

Kasey Palmer will be assessed ahead of the weekend to determine whether he is fit enough to make his Derby County debut.

The 21-year-old Chelsea loanee joined the Rams earlier this week and completed his first training session on Thursday ahead of the clash with Brentford.

That aside, Gary Rowett will have a similar squad to call upon at the weekend.

Bradley Johnson has also returned to training following a back problem, but whether he is fit enough to return to the matchday fold just yet is another question.

Jonathan Mitchell continues to be ruled out with a finger injury.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY?

Speaking to RamsTV ahead of the weekend, Gary Rowett said: “Whoever we play at the moment there’s a pressure on us to win the game.

“You can see recently, in the last two games, from a decision point of view by the officials we could have won both matches.

“Everyone is frustrated because of the scenario but we drew both games and didn’t lose.

“There’s pressure on every game now because of where we are. We accept that.

“Overall, to lose two games in 22 is a fantastic run of form. I won’t label it as an achievement, but it has been a fantastic run.

“We want to try and step on the gas at home now and try and get the wins that we want.”

ONE TO WATCH

Romaine Sawyers says he is a man in the form of his life at the moment as he and in-form Brentford prepare to head to Pride Park Stadium.

The 26-year-old wideman was recently nominated for the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month award for December after helping the Bees to four wins from six matches.

The wideman has scored five goals in 29 appearances for Dean Smith’s men, who is described as an imaginative passer of the ball, whilst his reading of the game allows Brentford to weave patterns on the pitch.

His move to Griffin Park came after three good years at Walsall after progressing through the youth ranks at West Bromwich Albion.

HOW DO I SECURE MY SEAT

The matchday ticket prices have been confirmed for Derby County’s Sky Bet Championship encounter against Brentford today (3pm kick-off).

Ticket prices are increased on the day of a game, so pre-purchasing prior to matchdays is recommended.

Tickets are available for Derby County supporters from:

Adults - £25
Senior Citizens (aged 65+) – £17.50
Under 18s - £14.50
2 to 12 Year Olds - £9

* 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.

WHAT’S TO COME IN THE RAM

Enjoying his standout season to date since joining Derby County in 2015, Luke Thomas spoke exclusively to The Ram about his time at the club so far after making his first team debut earlier in the season.

Over seven-pages, the 18-year-old discusses how he got into football, how a trial with Benfica caught the attention of the UK, moving to Derby, not making the most of his first seven months at the club, a crucial loan move and proving people wrong.

Jam-packed with that and more exclusive features and content, supporters, as ever, can purchase a copy of our 76-page award-winning official matchday programme, which retails at just £3 from all around Pride Park Stadium.

Click here for a full review of what other content you can expect to find in your Brentford edition of The Ram

LAST TIME OUT AT AGAINST THE BEES?

BRENTFORD 1-1 DERBY COUNTY
Tuesday 26th September 2017

It was so nearly the perfect away-day performance, but a late leveller from Brentford forced Derby County to settle for just a point when the two sides last met at Griffin Park in September.

Joe Ledley marked his first appearance in a Derby shirt with a headed goal after just 16 minutes.

That gave Gary Rowett’s side something to hang on to, but on a night where Brentford dominated the possession, the pressure on Scott Carson’s goal grew with every passing minute.

Neal Maupay, Chris Mepham, the substitute, and Nico Yennaris created opportunities to draw level but they proved to be near-misses as Derby continued to frustrate the lively Bees.

With 85 minutes on the clock, Ollie Watkin’s dealt the visitors a killer blow and scored the all-important equaliser that his side had been pushing by poking home a left-sided cross to salvage something from the game.

Brentford: Bentley, Henry, Bjelland (Mepham, 46), Yennaris (C), Maupay, Watkins, Woods (McEachran, 69), Sawyers, Clarke (Jozefzoon, 56), Dalsgaard, Barbet

Substitutes not used: Daniels, McEachran, Mokotjo, Shaibu, Chatzitheodoridis,

Derby County: Carson, Wisdom, Keogh (C), Davies, Forsyth; Huddlestone, Ledley (Vydra, 81); Bennett (Weimann, 10), Johnson, Lawrence; Winnall (Nugent, 69)

Substitutes not used: Mitchell, Martin, Baird, Pearce

WHO’S THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE?

Peter Bankes will be the man in the middle when Derby County return to Pride Park Stadium to face Brentford on Saturday.

Bankes has officiated 28 games so far this term, mainly in the Sky Bet Championship. from which he has produced 95 yellow and six red cards.

This will be the second time that he been in charge of a Derby game in this season after he was appointed as the referee for the Rams’ 2-1 victory over Norwich City back in October.

In total, this weekend’s referee has been in the man in the middle for three Derby fixtures – including the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in what was Gary Rowett’s first game in charge.

Bankes will be assisted by Paul Hodskinson and Timothy Wood on the lines, whilst Martin Coy has been appointed as the fourth official.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION

Matchday Live will see Owen Bradley joined in RamsTV’s studio by former Derby stars Michael Johnson and Deon Burton as they build-up to the match from 2.15pm. Supporters based outside of the UK and Republic of Ireland will then be able to watch the entire game which kicks-off at 3pm.

Here’s what’s coming up on RamsTV:

FRIDAY

• Pre-match Press Conference: Brentford (8.30am approx.) – RamsTV will be LIVE on Derby County’s Facebook page as Gary Rowett answers questions from the press.
• Brentford Preview Show (6.30pm) – Owen Bradley will be joined by former Rams Marc Edworthy and Shane Nicholson as they cover all the key stats and talking points ahead of Derby v Brentford.

SATURDAY

• Matchday Live: Derby County Vs Brentford (2.15pm) – Owen Bradley will be joined LIVE in RamsTV’s Pride Park studio by Michael Johnson and Deon Burton as they build up to kick-off by taking a closer look at both sides.
• International RamsTV subscribers will be able to watch the full game (kick-off 3pm) with live commentary and half-time and full-time analysis from the RamsTV studio.
• Post-Match Extra: Brentford (5.30pm approx.) – Fans can let Owen Bradley and Shane Nicholson know what they thought of Derby’s performance in RamsTV’s LIVE and interactive show on Facebook following the full-time whistle.

SUNDAY

• Match Highlights: Brentford (12pm) – RamsTV’s extended match highlights package will feature all the goals, incidents and key moments from the day before.
• Matchday Relived: Brentford (6pm) – Watch the entirety of RamsTV’s matchday production including the full 90 minutes of action along with the pre-game, half time and full-time analysis from the team in the RamsTV studio.

MONDAY

• Brentford Review Show (6pm) – Former Rams defenders Roy McFarland and Shane Nicholson will join RamsTV’s Owen Bradley as they pick apart all the key talking points from the game with Brenftord.

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.