3/1 To Win
Derby County’s Under-23s will hope to recover from their first loss of the season against top-of-the-table Leicester City two weeks ago as they host Everton at Loughborough University.
The young Rams have picked up five points from their four games so far this season and a win will take them level on points with Everton who sit third in the table.
WHAT’S THE LASTEST TEAM NEWS
Darren Wassall’s side have had a two-week break from league action following the international break.
Due to the first team having a busy schedule, Wassall is unlikely to be able to call upon any first team players for the visit of Everton.
There are no new fresh injury worries and Wassall has a fully fit squad to choose from.
SETTING THE SCENE
The young Rams head into the game in good spirits despite losing for the first time this season two weeks ago against league leaders Leicester City.
Before that, they had drawn their opening two games against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City before recording a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Chris Martin scored the only goal of the game to secure the victory, however, they fell to defeat at Pride Park Stadium against the Foxes.
Two first half goals were enough to clinch the victory, despite a spirited performance from Darren Wassall’s men.
“We are raring to go,” he told RamsTV, speaking ahead of the game against Everton. “The games we have had in recent seasons and since I’ve been Academy Manager have always been tough.
“However, we do against them is a bench mark of where we are. We had some good performances against them last season, particularly the one at Goodison Park.
“We have got to pick ourselves up a bit after the Leicester defeat. We didn’t do ourselves justice in the first half and we were unbeaten until then so it’s everything to prove again for the players. Second half was a big improvement and we hope to continue that performance and start a little bit better.”
Watch Darren Wassall’s and Calum Macdonald’s full pre-match interviews now on dcfc.co.uk.
HOW CAN I ATTEND?
The game is the first to be played at the Loughborough University Stadium. The venue will host the majority of Derby County Under-23s fixtures for the next three seasons.
Here are the prices:
Adults: £3
Concessions: £1
Season Ticket Holders: Free
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE TOFFEES
EVERTON U23s 1-3 DERBY COUNTY U23s
Monday 19th February 2018
Late goals from Max Bird and Lewis Walker led Derby County's Under-23s to a stunning 3-1 victory against Everton at Goodison Park.
Luke Thomas opened the scoring on his 19th birthday, but Darren Wassall's side were pegged back by Shayne Lavery's diving header.
Not to be denied, Bird and Walker stunned Everton with goals in the last 15 minutes to earn a first win since November in Premier League 2 - Division 1.
Everton: Hewelt; Markelo (Lavery, 62’), Feeney, Collins (Ouzounidis, HT), Gibson; Evans, Grant, Denny, Henen; Sambou (Baxter, HT), Hornby.
Substitutes not used: Hilton, Bowler.
Derby County: Barnes; Bogle (Taylor, 72’), Wassall, Cover, Karic; Bird, Bateman; Thomas, Babos, Cresswell (Whittaker, 68’); Walker.
Substitutes not used: Ravas, Hunt, Knight.
HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE ACTION?
Rams supporters not attending Monday’s fixture will be able to follow all of the action LIVE and for FREE on RamsTV. As usual, you will also be able to keep up to date with all the key moments across the official Derby County Academy Twitter account, @dcfcacademy, whilst a full match report, match images, reaction and match highlights will follow across dcfc.co.uk and RamsTV after the full-time whistle.
