Derby County have been backed to pick up a point this week when they take on Cardiff City at Pride Park.  

Phillip Cocu is feeling the heat at Pride Park at the moment, with five defeats in the opening seven fixtures of the season making it a tough start.

However, a point against Nottingham Forest on Friday has steadied the ship and set them up nicely to take on Neil Harris’ side on Wednesday evening.

Derby County quiz: Are these 10 facts about Pride Park true or false?

 

The Bluebirds drew with Middlesbrough over the weekend and have enjoyed a steady start, which leaves them in mid-table.

In terms of this game, David Prutton has previewed it on his weekly Sky Sports prediction column, where he’s backed another draw for the pair.

He wrote: “The pressure remains on Derby boss Phillip Cocu at the moment but things just are not going his way at the moment. The Rams have missed the presence of Wayne Rooney in the last two games and Cocu said his side were "robbed" after Kamil Jozwiak's goal was disallowed in the 1-1 East Midlands derby draw with Nottingham Forest.

“Cardiff squeezed past Preston on October 17, but other than that, they have really struggled to convert wins into draws of late, leaving them languishing in the bottom half of the table. I am going for a draw, though it would not really help either. 1-1.”  

Interestingly, this game will pitch Harry Wilson back up against the side he spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan with.

Wilson helped Derby reach the play-off final under Frank Lampard, but is now across the Championship with the Bluebirds on loan.

The 23-year-old has scored once in three games since joining Cardiff.

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The Verdict  

This is an extremely tough game for Derby.

Cardiff are a really strong Championship side and it isn’t the type of fixture that Derby want having been on such a poor run of form.

Of course, there was a lot to like in Friday’s draw with Forest (particularly going forwards), but, again, this is a really tough fixture.

I’d be backing an away win.

Thoughts? Let us know!