Derby County defender Scott Malone has suggested that the Rams will have to deal with the hostile Elland Road atmosphere if they’re to get a result against Leeds United on the weekend.

The two sides meet on Saturday for the first time since Derby came back from 2-0 down (3-0 on aggregate) to beat Leeds 4-2 on the day and knock them out of the play-offs 4-3 on aggregate.

It has been just over four months since that game and it appears Leeds have fared better over that period.

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The Whites are top of the table, while Derby are 19th, with just one win in the league all season.

After the Spygate saga, the play-off semi-final and the Rams’ controversial celebrations, tensions will likely be running high between the two clubs, meaning Elland Road should give the visitors a hostile reception.

Speaking to The Derby Telegraph, Malone suggested that he felt the atmosphere would play a part.

He said: “It adds a little bit of edge to the game but I think everyone is looking forward to it after what happened last year.

“It’s just how football is – of course, there’s going to be a little more edge to the game being at their place as well after what happened last season.

“We’ve got to deal with that, because it will be noisy, they will want revenge for what happened and we’ve got to stand up to that like we did against Cardiff.”

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The Verdict

Leeds may have a poor home record over the last few months, winning just once in the last seven games, but this looks like it could be a really tough test for the visitors.

Under new boss Phillip Cocu, Derby don’t appear to have found their groove just yet and now is hardly an ideal time in the season to travel away to the top-of-the-table side.

Malone is right, Elland Road is going to be loud and the way the Rams deal with that could be a huge factor in how this game turns out, particularly as this is likely to be a high-emotion tie for the Leeds players.