3/1 To Win
Phillip Cocu says Derby County’s supporters will have another big part to play when his side return to action at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Derby will round off another busy week of Sky Bet Championship action with a home fixture against Huddersfield Town (3pm kick-off).
Cocu’s side will return to Pride Park following back-to-back away fixtures at Swansea City and Bristol City inside the last week.
They ran out 3-2 winners at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium last Saturday, before tasting defeat by the same scoreline in midweek against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
Derby have won their last five games on home turf in all competitions and have been strong all season in front of the Rams’ faithful.
Cocu says his players enjoy playing at Pride Park and feels the home crowd can have an influence on proceedings.
He told RamsTV: “The support of the fans makes a difference and the players look forward to playing at Pride Park.
“The players look forward to playing in front of their home fans and even the influence they have on the opponent is big. I am looking forward to playing another game at Pride Park.”
He added: “It is another tough match but an important game at home for us to try and bounce back from the defeat against Bristol City.”
Derby and Huddersfield last locked horns on the opening day of the 2019/20 campaign.
A Tom Lawrence double handed the Rams a 2-1 victory at the John Smith’s Stadium back in August.
Huddersfield have had a change at the top since then, with former Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley now in the hotseat.
Previewing this weekend’s game, Cocu said: “It was a long time ago that we played Huddersfield and a lot of changes have gone on in their club since then. We expect quite a different team in the line-up on Saturday compared to the opening day of the season.
“From our side I think there have been some changes in the line-up and also in the way we play; the progression in the way we play and how we dominate games in a very positive way.
“That is something we are pleased about; we score more goals and are more effective in the final third. One thing we have to improve on are the set pieces, especially in the away games because in the home games we do well in that area.
“We seem to struggle on the set pieces in the away games and that is an important part of football as well.”
Following another busy week of action, Cocu’s side have had little time on the training ground of late.
Speaking about preparations for the weekend, he said: “It is tight at this time to travel quite far in the last two games and have just two days to prepare.
“Thursday was only a recovery day for the players who started at Bristol City and Friday is where the focus is on the preparation for the game. The intensity in training is low because you need energy for the game on Saturday again.”
He added: “The lads know how we want to play. At this stage in the season, tactically everything is clear and it is just the details in the parts of the game.”
