Derby County welcome Blackburn Rovers to Pride Park on Saturday afternoon on the back of three successive defeats in all competitions, setbacks which have heaped the pressure on Philip Cocu.
Meanwhile, Rovers make the visit to the East Midlands on the back of a 5-0 demolition of second-tier newcomers Wycombe Wanderers.
Match preview
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Having enjoyed a solid end to the last campaign, Derby boss Cocu would have been full of optimism ahead of his second campaign in English football.
However, the Rams have not recovered from being pushed all the way by Barrow in the EFL Cup, losing their next three fixtures in all competitions.
The lack of goals which hindered his team during the early part of last season has returned, an issue which has led to moves being made for Jordon Ibe and former Liverpool trainee Bobby Duncan.
While it could be brushed off as a coincidence, Derby's two strikes this season have both come in the minutes immediately after half time, possibly a consequence of Cocu's team talks.
The signs are there that the Dutchman is only getting short-term reactions from his players, and another defeat at the weekend would lead to further question marks being raised over his future.
Blackburn, on the other hand, have performed positively in each of their outings this season, scoring a total of 10 goals from their four fixtures.
Although narrow defeats came against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, it came as little surprise when Rovers turned those positive outings into a ruthless display of finishing against Wycombe.
Tony Mowbray has, so far, opted against making many changes to a squad which threatened the top six last season, and the continuity is starting to pay off.
Striker Adam Armstrong has been the star of the show thus far, contributing five strikes from three starts and one substitute outing.
Derby County Championship form: LL
Derby County form (all competitions): DLLL
Blackburn Rovers Championship form: LW
Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions): WDLW
Team News
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Mowbray is unlikely to tinker with the Blackburn team which began the success over Wycombe.
Despite his arrival on a free transfer, centre-back Daniel Ayala is unlikely to be considered for selection until next month.
Derby boss Cocu will be able to call upon Mike te Wierik, who is available again after serving a one-match suspension.
Jack Marriott has returned to training after a minor knock, while Duane Holmes could be selected in the 18-man group after injury.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Byrne, Wisdom, Clarke, Forsyth; Bird, Shinnie; Jozwiak, Rooney, Knight; Marriot
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Rankin-Costello, Lenihan, Williams, Bell; Holtby, Johnson, Rothwell; Dolan, Armstrong, Brereton
We say: Derby County 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Given his side's recent performances and results, Cocu has little option but to put more emphasis on attack. Nevertheless, that may not necessarily lead to a change in fortunes, especially against opponents who have not been short of goals.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:dataData Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Derby County win with a probability of 38.73%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 35.13% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Derby County win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.7%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.44%) and 2-0 (6.59%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 (9.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.42%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 0.8% likelihood.
