Friday night’s game at Pride Park between Derby and Fulham in the Championship is a massive one for the visitors’ chances of promotion to the Premier League.
The Cottagers are currently third-place in the table, trailing second-place Leeds by three points in the race to secure automatic promotion. Scott Parker’s team have shot themselves in the foot of late, with a draw against Millwall before a woeful 3-0 home defeat against bottom of the table Barnsley.
The recent poor results mean that the Cottagers have won just twice in their last five matches in the Championship. It is certainly not the sort of form that sees a team win promotion.
Fulham do head into this clash unbeaten in five away games in the second tier, although three of those games have finished in draws. The Cottagers have been impressive defensively on their travels of late, conceding just once in four away games in the Championship.
That stellar defensive record has contributed to under 2.5 goals being scored in Fulham’s last four away matches in the league.
Derby have enjoyed a rollercoaster of a campaign and are 13th place in the Championship table after another inconsistent run of form.
A 1-1 home draw against Huddersfield last time out means that County have won just two of their last five league matches. The Rams recent league matches have at least been entertaining affairs, with over 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five league matches.
The recent inconsistent form has seen the Rams chances of making a late dash for the play-offs a remote possibility.
One big positive for Derby of late has been their home form, as the Rams are unbeaten in five league games, having recorded four wins in the process.
Forebet predicts that the Rams will stifle the Cottagers hopes of automatic promotion by holding the visitors to a low-scoring draw.