Derby County will be aiming to close the gap between them and safety to three points this weekend by securing a victory over Blackburn Rovers at Pride Park.

The Rams know that they will have to be at their very best to prevent their opponents from scoring on Saturday as Rovers have already managed to find the back of the net on 23 occasions in the second-tier this season.

Currently bottom of the Championship, Derby could leapfrog Barnsley in the standings if they beat Blackburn and Markus Schopp's side slip up against Bristol City.

Ahead of this fixture, we have decided to take a look at some of the major headlines concerning the club in our latest round-up article.

Takeover latest

After expressing his intention to purchase Derby earlier this week, prospective owner Chris Kirchner is expected to be in attendance for the club's meeting with Blackburn, as per a report from the Daily Mail.

Kirchner held discussions with Derby's administrators and met manager Wayne Rooney earlier this month as he aims to purchase the club for the asking price of £50m.

The Rams' administrators have confirmed that they have received a written offer from Kirchner and that the American businessman may face competition from other potential buyers who have privately shown a willingness to take over the club.

Kazim-Richards on club's chances of achieving survival

Colin Kazim-Richards has revealed that he believes that Derby are better than the teams around them and thus will have a good chance of achieving survival this season.

The Rams will need to pick up victories on a regular basis if they are to avoid the drop next year.

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, the forward said: "Personally I am relishing it because to me it really feels like it is something that can be done, it really does."

"When you look around the league, and you look around the teams that we are going about, no disrespect we feel we are better than them.

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing we can do with the 12 points, with the administration, with whatever is going on, nothing.

 

 

"So it is easy for us to think this is all we need to focus on, that's it.

"The pressure is on, but the pressure is off.

"No-one is expecting it, but the people who are involved with Derby and ourselves."

Rooney lauds Max Bird for the impact that he has made for the Rams

Rooney has praised Max Bird for his recent performances for Derby and has insisted that he is surprised that the midfielder hasn't been called up by one of England's youth teams since making his debut in 2017.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference for the Ram's meeting with Blackburn (as cited by the club's official Twitter account) about the 21-year-old: "Max Bird has been incredible.

"He's consistently been one of the best players in the league and the fact he's never been called up for any England squad is disappointing.

"He deserves a call-up and it's a shame that someone performing so well hasn't been picked."