3/1 To Win
Derby County will return to Sky Bet Championship action on Saturday afternoon following the October international break with a trip to Preston North End.
dcfc.co.uk has gathered all the information you need to know ahead of the game (3pm kick-off).
TICKET NEWS…
Tickets for this weekend's match went off sale from the Derby County Ticket Office at Pride Park Stadium at 12pm on Wednesday of this week.
Tickets went on sale to Membership Holders with priority access on away tickets last week, before going on sale to 2021/22 Season Ticket Holders and General Sale.
Preston have advised that just over 2,000 tickets in the away end will be made available to Derby supporters on the day - with prices set at £5 for all fans.
Payment will be via cash at the turnstiles and card payment will not be accepted.
Gate receipts will be donated to charities supported by Trevor Hemmings, the owner of the Lilywhites, after he sadly passed away this week.
2021/22 Memberships
Membership packages for Derby County’s 2021/22 season, where you can be first in line to purchase away tickets, are on sale now.
Memberships can be purchased here: membership.dcfc.co.uk/home.
Concessions
Proof of age may be required on entry for any concessionary tickets.
TEAM NEWS…
Rams defender Nathan Byrne will miss the game against Preston as he serves a one-match ban after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in the side's 0-0 draw at home to Swansea City last time out. That means youngsters Kornell McDonald and Festy Ebosele, or Polish winger Kamil Jozwiak, could come into the starting line-up in place of Byrne.
Defender Phil Jagielka and striker Sam Baldock were sidelined due to injury prior to the international break but both players are back in training and pushing to feature at Deepdale.
Centre-back Richard Stearman picked up a knock in the goalless draw with Swansea a fortnight ago but he has also trained this week and could feature against the Lilywhites.
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards remains out of action with an achilles injury sustained in August but he is edging closer to a return to training.
Polish
international midfielder Krystian Bielik, who suffered an ACL knee
injury in January of this year, is making good progress in his rehabilitation work
but is still not yet in a position to return to full training.
MANAGER'S THOUGHTS…
Manager Wayne Rooney offered his pre-match views to RamsTV on Thursday and said: “We have had some very good performances away from home this season but we just haven’t managed to pick up the results we want, so this week gives us a chance to change that.
“We have two away games now, starting with Preston, and then Coventry next weekend.
“First up is Preston and it’s a difficult game but it’s certainly one where we can get three points in and I’m confident we can do that. We have to be fully focused and at it to give ourselves the best chance of doing that.”
He added: “I’ve said it all along, and in particular since we went into administration, the lads have been great.
“The training sessions have been excellent. The energy and commitment they have shown in each session has been really good and exactly what I want, so I’m delighted with the players. I think this week is very important for us to pick up some points.”
PLAYER THOUGHTS…
Captain Tom Lawrence spoke to RamsTV after training on Thursday.
The forward said: “I think it’s tough when you look at the league table, so we just focus every game at a time.
“Hopefully the points will come back on the board and we can get back up there.
“It’s hard to look at but it’s where we are and we will do everything we can to keep this club in this league.”
“Preston are a tough team,” he aadded. “They
didn’t start off well but they have come into form now so it’s a
different kind of match that what we’ve been used to in the past couple
of games so we are looking forward to it and will try to get the win.”
MATCH OFFICIALS…
Joshua Smith will oversee Saturday's game at Deepdale.
Smith has overseen 11 games so far this season in all competitions, showing 39 yellow cards and two reds in the process.
This weekend's match will be his first where he has taken charge of a Derby fixture.
Smith will be assisted by Mark Dwyer and Natalie Aspinall on the lines, whilst Jeremy Simpson has been appointed as the fourth official.
EFL SUBSTITUTE RULES…
The five substitutions rule has been scrapped for the 2021/22 season, the English Football League confirmed in July.
The rule allowing clubs to make five changes, as opposed to the usual three, was brought in following football's restart in June 2020 after a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given that games had to be condensed into a short period of time it was thought beneficial and allowed managers to make as many as five changes in three intervals during a match.
Clubs had a longer post-break between seasons this time around and so the temporary rule has been changed.
Teams will be able to name seven substitutes but only use a maximum of three.
STREAMING INFORMATION…
With
COVID-19 capacity restrictions lifted and EFL fixtures being played in
front of full crowds once again, the temporary change in streaming rules
is no longer valid.
If you can't make the game in person, other options to catch up with the action on the pitch – including live TV, live radio, streaming of selected matches alongside highlights on TV and online of every Sky Bet EFL game.
LIVE TV (DOMESTIC)
In the UK, Sky Sports will show 138 Sky Bet EFL matches, 15 Carabao Cup ties and the Semi Finals and Final of the Papa John’s Trophy.
In the case of Weekend Fixtures, the EFL’s designated kick-off times* for Sky Live Matches are usually scheduled as follows:
* Friday evenings at 7:45pm or 8pm
* Saturdays at 12:30pm; Sundays at 12-noon
Within the Sky contract there are other kick-off times that are available to the broadcaster
In the case of scheduled Midweek Matches, live Sky fixtures will be between 7:30pm and 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
RADIO
TalkSPORT offer exclusive live commentaries on national radio across the Sky Bet EFL as well as non-exclusive rights to the Carabao Cup that are shared by the BBC.Both TalkSPORT and the BBC have the ability to broadcast score flash updates across all competitions.BBC Local Radio also have individual commentary deals with selected EFL clubs.
LIVE TV (INTERNATIONAL)
Any match shown live on Sky Sports in the UK is made available overseas via the League’s international broadcast partners.As well as this fixture, a minimum of 36 Championship fixtures taking place on Saturdays at 3pm, will be distributed for international coverage, alongside selected League One and Two fixtures, Carabao Cup ties, and action from across the Sky Bet Play-Offs.
A full list of the EFL’s international broadcast partners are available here:efl.com/iFollow/international-broadcasters/
HIGHLIGHTS
In the UK, Quest will continue to be the home for all highlights of matches in the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy, with action from a full weekend schedule of matches broadcast at 9pm on Saturdays, and midweek League highlights and Carabao Cup midweek highlights also screened on applicable weeknights. Internationally, a number of the EFL’s broadcast partners show repeat transmissions and highlights.
STREAMING
In respect of domestic streaming, the EFL will return to the position as was prior to the pandemic when the live broadcast or streaming of any match in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is prohibited between the hours of 2:45pm-5:15pm on Saturday afternoons.
EFL clubs will have the right to live-stream midweek matches on iFollow or Club equivalent service, with Sky Sports also able to stream the same Championship fixtures to subscribers across their Red Button interactive and digital services.
The position in each Sky Bet EFL division is as follows:
CHAMPIONSHIP - DOMESTIC
* All scheduled midweek matches (unless selected as one of Sky Sports Exclusive midweek selections)
* Displaced weekend matches – matches which are moved from Saturday 3pm kick-offs for non-TV purposes (at the discretion of the Home club)
* Bank Holiday matches (at the discretion of the Home club)
CHAMPIONSHIP - INTERNATIONAL
Overseas supporters can watch live all EFL Championship league games provided that they have not been selected for international television broadcast in a territory that has an overseas broadcast partner
