Derby County host Bristol City at Pride Park on Saturday.
Derby County will look to get back to winning ways this weekend when they take on Championship opponents Bristol City side having been held to a 0-0 draw in their last outing against rivals Nottingham Forest.
The Rams struggled to break down Forest last Monday, and many felt they lacked creativity through the middle to really hurt Aitor Karanka’s men, who ultimately finished the game the more likely to take the spoils.
Frank Lampard may want to freshen his side up with four games in just over ten days in the busy festive period, and he will be looking to add more goals to the side after a run of just six goals in their last six games.
Summer signing Florian Jozefzoon has not featured so much this season, making just six starts and only one since October, which came in the 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last month.
But the former Brentford man was decent at Hillsborough and can count himself unlucky not to have started since, and perhaps Lampard will look to bring him back into the fold with Craig Bryson dropping out.
It is no coincidence that Derby’s better performances this season – such as the 4-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion – came with Harry Wilson playing through the middle and linking up with fellow loan star Mason Mount.
With Bryson in the middle, it seems Derby’s speed on the ball drops, and the 32-year-old no longer has the legs to push forward and put pressure on the opposition’s defence when out of possession.
Bringing Wilson back in the middle and putting Jozefzoon out wide would inject more pace into this Derby team, and against a quick Bristol City side pace may be necessary to pick up all three points.
Here is how we believe Derby could line-up:
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