3/1 To Win
Fikayo Tomori believes Derby County have what it takes to stand up to a strong Brentford side at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday and achieve a positive result.
The Bees have been on fine form to start the season and sit third in the Sky Bet Championship after recording four wins, three draws and just a single loss from their eight games so far.
However, the centre-back knows the Rams have the strength to stand up to their opponents after their own steady start to the season which has seen them record an equal number of victories.
Tomori is expecting a battle of similar styles, with both teams preferring the lion’s share of the ball. Derby have an average possession of 55.4 per cent behind only Leeds in that category while Brentford are right behind with an average 55.2 per cent.
“They are a good team, a good footballing side,” Tomori told RamsTV.
“I remember playing them last year when I was on loan at Hull City; they were a good team and this year they have started off well.
“It’s probably going to be different to games we have had so far, maybe similar to the Leeds game where both teams want to play football. It’s going to be on the ground a lot and a lot of movement.
“It’s going to be an interesting game, but we will stand up to them because we believe that we are just as good a team as they are and hopefully we can get a result.”
The 20-year-old and his fellow defenders will have the league’s most prolific man in front of goal to contend with. Neal Maupay has either scored or assisted in all his league appearances so far this term with eight goals and three assists in six games.
The Frenchman links up well with Ollie Watkins up front to provide even more of a threat, and Tomori knows they aren’t the only ones the Rams must keep at bay.
The defender is already familiar with Brentford’s midfielder Josh McEachran having been a few years behind him in the Chelsea youth system and Sergi Canos will be back at Pride Park looking to make amends following the red card he was shown in the Rams' 3-0 home win last season.
Although Tomori recognises and respects the talent within the London team, he knows that Derby can equal that and put their own abilities on show.
“He [Maupay] has had a flying start and obviously the one for them and their real threat,” said Tomori.
“Hopefully we can keep him quiet, but not only him, they have other good players too like [Josh] McEachran and [Sergi] Canos.
“We just have to keep our eye on all of them but as well as that, show our quality too.”
On Tuesday night, Tomori showed his quality at the other end of the pitch when he was inches away from scoring his second Derby goal with a stunning display of acrobatics as he attempted an over-head kick.
Unfortunately, it didn’t land in the back of the net for him or any of his team mates despite their relentless effort in the midweek clash with Blackburn Rovers as the game ended goalless, but Derby will look to take the positives of their performance through to Saturday and beyond.
He said: “We pretty much dominated the whole game and I think it was just one of those days when the ball just didn’t fall for us in the box.
“It would have been nice to get all the points too but hopefully we can carry through that performance and get the result Saturday.
“I think having the Brentford game gives us a chance to go into the Manchester United game with some confidence and we can take that into Bolton as well."
Describing his effort, Tomori added: “I saw the ball in the air and I couldn’t really get my head to it to get it towards the box, so I just thought I’d try it.
“I haven’t seen it to see if it was close or not, but everyone is talking about it, so it must have been good. It was a good try and hopefully if I ever try it again it will go in!”
