Derby County fell to a disappointing defeat away to local rivals Nottingham Forest last weekend, as Lewis Grabban secured a 1-0 win for the Reds.

The loss was Derby's third in five games as Phillip Cocu's side are struggling to find any real form in the Championship, leaving last year's play off finalists in 16th place on 21 points.

Despite their disappointing league position, Derby are still only seven points off sixth placed Bristol City so a good run of results following the international break could see Cocu's side climb the table and put pressure on the play off places.

Cocu will be hoping to use the break to assess his first few months in charge at Derby but faces a tough challenge next weekend as his side host high flying Preston North End.

Here are dilemmas that will be running through Cocu's mind this weekend.

Conceding from set pieces

Derby have conceded 21 goals in total this season, which is actually one of the best defences in the bottom half of the table.

However, it is their defending from set pieces which has caused issues this season as Derby have conceded six goals from free kicks or corners and three from penalties too, leaving them joint with Wigan for the most conceded from set pieces in the league.

Set piece goals amount to a third of all their goals conceded and Cocu's side may have one of the best defences  in the league if he can add more structure and organisation to his side's defending of set plays.

Creating chances

Derby have scored 18 goals from their opening 16 matches and have failed to score on four separate occasions this season.

They have failed to create enough chances in games which has seen teams like Charlton, Hull and Brentford secure easy victories without coming under too much pressure from the Rams.

Cocu's side have only scored 12 goals from open play and just one from set pieces all season. They also have one of the lowest shot counts in the league, having around 11 shots per game - the joint fifth lowest with Wigan.

Individual errors

Something that Cocu will look to address during the international break is his side's repetition of making individual errors.

Bogle's misplaced pass on Saturday was just one example of errors leading to goals. In the recent game against Charlton, goalkeeper Kelle Roos failed to claim a corner which lead to a Charlton goal and the three penalties conceded have come from needless fouls.