Football – England – Championship
Saturday 4th October 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Derby County will be seeking a fourth win on the trot when they host Millwall at the iPro Stadium on Saturday afternoon following a Capital One Cup win and back-to-back Championship victories.
A 2-0 win in the League Cup over Reading was swiftly followed by league wins over Bolton Wanderers and Bournemouth and their good form has pushed the Rams into fourth spot as McClaren’s men seek a third win on the trot in the Championship.
Derby County are now unbeaten in their last seven matches, and with another home fixture this afternoon against a struggling Millwall outfit, Derby could even go top of the division if other results go their way today.
The Rams’ home record stands at 3-2-0 11/4 and they’ve lost just once in their last thirteen on home soil which incidentally was to QPR last season who went onto promotion up to the Premiership.
It looks a daunting prospect for Millwall to get anything away at Derby this Saturday particularly after having lost at home to away-day strugglers Birmingham City in midweek, and that result certainly wouldn’t have filled The Lions with confidence ahead of today’s clash.
Millwall slumped to a fourth defeat in five league matches with that 1-3 loss to Birmingham who hadn’t previously won away from home this season, and their slide in form and confidence is something that manager Ian Holloway must address immediately.
After a promising start to the season which saw The Lions come away from Craven Cottage with all three points back in August, they’ve since lost three of their last four on the road with defeats at Ipswich Town, Reading and Huddersfield Town, with an overall record now of 1-1-3 5/8.
Derby manager used a 4-3-3 formation against Bournemouth in midweek and I can’t see any reason why he won’t stick with the same line-up with in-form strikers Ward and Marin in tandem up front while the midfield trio of Bryson, Eustace and Hughes will also join the raids into mill wall’s final third. I can’t see any other result than a Derby win here, and I may upgrade this pick to an asian handicap -1 once the prices are out. Derby to win this perhaps 2-0.
Pick: Derby County straight win @ 1.62 Bet Victor
