Plymouth v Derby Preview
Posted on | February 6, 2009 | No Comments
Both of these teams sit close by each other in the table and both know that they’re well and truly in the relegation picture. Plymouth are sat in 16th, just five points ahead of the bottom three, while Derby are in 19th and just two points separate them from the relegation zone.
It wasn’t so long ago that Plymouth were up battling in the play offs, yet recent form has been poor and the Pilgrims now look set to have a relegation fight on their hands. They may still be five points clear of the bottom three, yet that margin is decreasing every week and that must worry Paul Sturrock. One of the biggest problems for Sturrock has been his side’s home form though. The Pilgrims have won just once in their last five fixtures at Home Park and with that, they’re always going to be facing an uphill struggle. With injuries now starting to hit Sturrock’s squad pretty hard, the next month or so could be do or die for the Cornwall side.
It’s not exactly been an easy ride for Nigel Clough in his new role as Derby manager, and he’s probably finding the transition into league football a lot harder than first imagined. The Rams struggled in his first few games and incurred more defeats, yet recently form has taken a turn for the better. Firstly, they grinded out a 2-1 win over Coventry before then proceeding and beating fierce neighbors Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the FA Cup. That result will certainly impress the Pride Park faithful and Clough’s work was all the more impressive after Derby found themselves 2-0 down in the early stages. Robbie Savage said afterwards that there is now plenty of belief in the Rams squad yet if they are to prove that, they need to move away from their current league predicament pretty quickly.
One thing that will severely hinder Plymouth’s chances in this one is the number of injuries that Paul Sturrock has to cope with though. The Pilgrims boss is definitely without David Gray and David McNamee while defenders Chris Barker, Marcel Seip and Craig Cathcart are major doubts. It’s much brighter for visitors Derby and Nigel Clough just has the one concern with Miles Addison struggling with a hamstring problem. Other than that it’s all systems go for the Rams though and Clough will be hoping to hand Chris Porter his debut after the striker signed from Motherwell at the end of January.
Plymouth may have the home advantage, but we’re tipping Derby for this one. The Rams are coming off the back of a confidence enhancing victory over local rivals Nottingham Forest and with Plymouth not having the best home form; we’ll predict a 2-1 win for Nigel Clough’s men.
Related posts:
- Derby v Plymouth Preview
- Doncaster v Derby Preview
- Derby v Scunthorpe Preview
- Nottingham Forest v Derby Preview
- QPR v Derby Preview
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