3/1 To Win
Derby
County are back on the road on Saturday afternoon when they make the long journey to Swansea City.
dcfc.co.uk has gathered all the information you need to know ahead of the Sky Bet Championship match (3pm kick-off).
TICKET NEWS…
Swansea City have confirmed that the option to purchase tickets on the day at the Swansea.com Stadium is NOT available for away supporters.
Those fans without a ticket are advised not to make the journey to South Wales, as they will be unable to gain entry to the stadium.
Tickets are on sale in person from the Ticket Office at Pride Park Stadium until 4pm on the day before the game, but online sales are no longer available.
Full information for Derby County fans can be found by Clicking Here.
TEAM NEWS…
Midfielder Max Bird will begin a three-match ban following his red card in last Saturday's 1-0 home win over Preston North End so Poland international midfielder Krystian Bielik is pushing to return to the side.
Attacking midfielder Ravel Morrison is set to return to the starting line-up after he came off the bench to score the winner against Preston at Pride Park Stadium last weekend. Manager Wayne Rooney opted to leave the 29-year-old on the bench after his international exploits with Jamacia, which only saw him return to Derby late last week.
Striker Colin Kazim-Richards will again miss out after picking up an ankle injury in the side's 3-1 loss at Blackburn Rovers last month. He is set to miss the rest of the season as a result and is working his way back to fitness.
MANAGER'S THOUGHTS…
Manager Wayne Rooney offered his pre-match views to RamsTV and he said: “I think we know what we have to do, and we’ve known what we have to do for some time, with six games left.
“All we have to do is focus on the next game, which is a tough one against Swansea on Saturday, and that’s what we’ll do. We’ll keep focusing on that, try to pick up three points and we know it’s going to be a challenge.
“I’ve said all season
that I’m extremely proud of the players and how they have handled the
whole situation. This isn’t just a one-off thing where you are hit with
the deduction of 21 points, there have been different issues throughout
the season and the players have had to deal with that and cope with it.
“They have put in performances, so I am really
proud of them and how they have handled themselves. We have six games
left to make sure we continue that, work hard and try to pick up as many
points we can so we will see where we are at the end of the season.”
FROM THE DRESSING ROOM…
Midfielder Krystian Bielik spoke to RamsTV at Moor Farm Training Ground to preview the midweek trip to South Wales.
“We have got six games left and we know what the gap is,” he said. “Reading played a few days ago and made the gap bigger with a win, so we know the gap is nine points with six games left.
“It’s not going to be easy, we know that, and we have to look at ourselves and play our best football. We have to go into every single game, home or away, it doesn’t matter, and we just have to win.
“We have to be realistic and say if we don’t win the next two games then it’s almost done, but we are still positive. The spirit is still there and we have the fight inside of us.
“We will go to Swansea on Saturday and we know what we want to achieve. We will do everything we can to get three points.”
MATCH OFFICIALS…
Tim Robinson will oversee Saturday afternoon's clash against the Swans.
Robinson has overseen 31 games so far this season in all competitions, showing 138 yellow cards and six red cards.
His last Derby match was the 2-1 loss at Nottingham Forest earlier this year and he gave a red card to Rams midfielder Ravel Morrison late on at the City Ground.
He also oversaw the 1-1 draw at Millwall in
November, where he sent off defender Nathan Byrne for two bookings, as
well as the 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest in August.
Robinson will be assisted by Andrew Fox and Nigel Lugg on the lines, whilst Sam Allison 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
