Another draw last Saturday earned Philip Cocu’s Derby County a valuable point away at Elland Road against Leeds United as The Rams scored a last-gasp equaliser in a game that was dominated by Leeds in the first half, but failed to make their chances count.
That’s 3 draws in Derby’s last 4 matches in the Championship and the hosts occupy a lowly 18th place on the Championship table after they’ve managed just 1 win so far in this new campaign.
That rare victory came in the shape of a 2-1 win away at hapless Huddersfield Town on the opening day of the season, but The Rams have since failed to win any of their subsequent 7 matches thereafter.
However, although the victories have been thin on the ground for Derby so far, there’s opportunities in the goals market as 6 of Derby’s 7 matches so far in the second tier have resulted with both teams scoring.
This trend continues at Pride Park where both teams have hit the back of the net in 4 of the last 6 matches.
Visitors, Birmingham City, failed to make it 3 wins on the trot on the weekend when they were dealt a rare defeat at St Andrews by Preston North End, who themselves, recorded a rare victory away from home in a narrow 1-0 win.
Having won 3 of their last 5 matches, Birmingham City still have reason to be confident ahead of their trip to the east midlands to take on a Derby County outfit who have struggled for results so far in this season’s Championship campaign.
The Blues have recorded a couple of victories on their travels already this season with wins at Brentford and Charlton Athletic, so they have reason to be confident of taking something out of this clash, although they’ve also suffered defeats on the road at Nottingham Forest and Swansea City too.
The fact that Birmingham have already gained 2 wins on the road this season though is certainly cause for optimism amongst The Blues’ ranks, and with striker Jutkiewicz (3 goals) hitting the goal trail early on, the visitors look a decent bet to score at Derby this Saturday too.
With Derby having drawn 3 of their last 4 matches, this match looks like being a score-draw but both teams to score here looks the most likely outcome.