Derby County have endured an underwhelming start to the season. Currently sat in 16^th place in the Championship, the Rams have scored just one goal in their last three games.

Their away form has been terrible, with their only away league win coming on the opening day of the 19/20 campaign against Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium. The side has enjoyed life at Pride Park, though, and have only fallen to defeat against Bristol City on home turf.

Manager Philip Cocu is yet to keep the same starting XI for more than three games and has struggled to build any real sense of consistency in his debut season in English football. Injuries have had their say on this inconsistency for sure, but with Jayden Bogle, Jack Marriott and Duane Holmes having returned, there is no real excuse for Cocu to turn to after the side’s recent dip in form.

Looking to get back on track and continue their impressive home record, Derby host Middlesbrough in their next Championship clash. To avoid dropping more valuable points, there is one major change from their recent defeat to Hull City that Cocu might want to consider.

The 4-2-3-1 is becoming an increasingly popular formation among managers across all divisions. However, the setup is only really effective when you have goal scorers on your wings. Derby don’t really have that.

What they do have is a plethora of top-quality Championship strikers who are all desperate to play down the centre. Martyn Waghorn, Chris Martin and Jack Marriott are all great options that Cocu has struggled to join in unison.

Waghorn has often played as a right midfielder and Marriott has had to settle for a few late substitute appearances after coming back from his injury.

Considering these striking options, why don’t derby try and switch to a two-striker formation?

The squad is screaming for a change to a 3-5-2. The club have a lack of quality on the wings but have very attacking full-backs in the form of Bogle and Max Lowe who would suit the wing-back role perfectly. You could then push Tom Lawrence more centrally where he can become more effective and play a willing runner like Marriott off of a ball winner like Waghorn or Martin.

With that, you need an extra central defender. Alongside Matt Clarke and Curtis Davies, you can fit Krystian Bielik (adding Holmes next to Graeme Shinnie in his absence) or Andre Wisdom who has just returned from injury.

Derby shouldn’t look to play with two defensive-midfielders at home every week. Especially against a team like Middlesbrough who are the division’s lowest scorers having Holmes and either Shinnie or Bielik as the two in the centre would allow for more creativity.