Match Preview: Derby County vs Bristol City - Expert Analysis

After two years in League One Derby County are back in the Championship this season. They finished second in the third tier last year under Paul Warne and will be hoping to secure themselves as a second tier outfit for future seasons. For their fourth league game of the season, they host Bristol City who will be looking to improve this season following a number of disappointing years in and around mid-table obscurity.

Derby County vs Bristol City Standings

Derby are currently in 15th in the Championship table, having won one game and lost two so far this season. In all competitions, they have won both of their home games and lost all three of their away games, a trend that they’ll hope can continue as they host Bristol City.

City are in a much better position, sitting in seventh. They are yet to lose a league game this season, but they have made it difficult for themselves, with two 1-1 draws and a 4-3 win. They were knocked out of the first round of the EFL Cup by Coventry City, so didn’t have midweek football to contend with this week, which Derby did.

Derby County vs Bristol City Head to Head

In their last five meetings, Derby County have only won once, a 1-0 victory in January 2021. In fact three of those meetings have ended in a 1-0 victory for the home side, two going the way of Bristol City.

Bristol City 3-2 Derby County (Feb 2020) Bristol City 1-0 Derby County (Nov 2020) Derby County 1-0 Bristol City (Jan 2021) Bristol City 1-0 Derby County (Dec 2021) Derby County 1-3 Bristol City (Apr 2022)

The sides haven’t met in over two years since Derby’s relegation. Before that, they met in seven consecutive Championship seasons, with Derby winning four, losing six and drawing four.

Derby County vs Bristol City Top Scorers

Derby have quite a few players on one goal in the Championship so far this season, with Kane Wilson, Ebou Adams and Curtis Nelson all having found the back of the net. Kayden Jackson also has one league goal, but he also netted in the EFL Cup too making him the club’s top scorer in all competitions.

Fally Mayulu has scored twice in the Championship for Bristol City this campaign, which means that he is the club’s outright top scorer. He has mainly been used as an effective substitute, but his goal scoring record could mean that he will soon be considered for a start.

Derby County vs Bristol City Team News

Derby’s only known absentee for this game will be Jake Rooney as he remains sidelined with a knee injury. It is likely that there will be a lot of changes from the midweek defeat in the EFL Cup as Paul Warne looks to get his team back on track.

Bristol City have a few more injury concerns as Rob Dickie, who has been ever present in the heart of defence since Liam Manning took charge, is set to miss the game having been forced off against Coventry in the league last weekend. George Earthy and Yu Hirakawa will also be missing from the squad.

Derby County vs Bristol City Predicted Lineups

Derby County: J. Widell Zetterstrom, R. Nyambe, C. Nelson, S. Bradley, C. Elder, D. Ozoh, E. Adams, K. Jackson, K. Goudmijn, N. Mendez-Laing, J. Yates

Bristol City: M. O’Leary, G. Tanner, Z. Vyner, K. Naismith, C. Pring, J. Williams, J. Knight, M. Sykes, M. Bird, S. Twine, F. Mayulu

Derby County vs Bristol City Player to Watch

Bristol City midfielder Max Bird is definitely the player to watch in this match for a number of reasons. Firstly, Bird joined Bristol City from Derby in January and played the second half of last season on loan with his former club. Bird was with the Rams from the age of 10, but now the 23-year-old will be playing at Pride Park as an away player.

He has provided two assists in three games this season and has been deployed in a more attacking role than the one he played in for County which means that there is a real possibility that he gets a goal contribution against his former club. It will be interesting to see what his reception is like from the home fans when he plays.