Derby County have struggled to break teams down this season.
Derby County entered 2018 occupying the second automatic promotion spot, and they further cemented their position with an excellent 3-0 victory at boss Gary Rowett’s former club Birmingham City.
Since then, however, one win in six games has seen them slip to fourth and go five points behind fellow Championship promotion rivals Cardiff City who are now up to second.
It is a similar feeling of deja vu for Derby fans, finding themselves in a great position at the turn of the new year only to hit a poor run of form and see their promotion rivals start to pull away.
In fairness to boss Gary Rowett, few Rams supporters expected to be in this position at present and most would have taken a top six spot had it been offered at the beginning of the current campaign.
But after being in a strong position and on a 20-year record unbeaten run, there is a sense of frustration.
Ultimately, Derby’s lofty position has come as a result of some clinical finishing from their forwards and some top-quality defending.
However, in recent weeks, chances have started to go begging while the clean sheets have dried up, resulting in Derby taking on performance levels reflective of a mid-table side rather than an automatic promotion challenger.
Arguably Derby’s biggest weakness is their lack of creativity, and when they are tasked with breaking teams down, rarely are they able to do so. considering they generally set up to play counterattacking football.
| Attempts in the box per game | Chances created per game | |
|---|---|---|
| Brentford | 9.88 | 13.73 |
| Cardiff | 8.67 | 9.82 |
| Preston | 7.48 | 10.06 |
| Wolves | 7.39 | 9.91 |
| Bristol C | 7.33 | 9.36 |
| Fulham | 7.33 | 10.55 |
| Aston Villa | 7.27 | 9.27 |
| Middlesbrough | 7.15 | 9.15 |
| Derby | 6.79 | 9.64 |
| Sheff Utd | 6.72 | 8.94 |
The graph posted by Opta shows that compared to their rivals, Derby currently are 13th in the Championship in when it comes to shots inside the box and ninth for chances created.
Only once this season have Derby come from a losing position to win a game – the 2-1 victory at Leeds in October – and on only two other occasions have they rescued a draw from losing positions.
Cardiff, on the flip side, have come from behind to rescue points on five separate occasions this season and it could be that extra bit of spirit, endeavour and quality up top that sees the Bluebirds pip the Rams to automatic promotion.
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