One of last season's fiercest rivalries is set to resume on Saturday afternoon, when Leeds United take on Derby County for the first time this season at Elland Road.

The fixture that sparked the Spygate scandal, before providing one of the most dramatic play-off semi-finals in recent years, is, however, being played under slightly different circumstances to last season.

Whereas the previous campaign saw both sides competing for promotion, so far it is only Leeds who look like doing that again this time around, with Derby currently 19th in the table and without a league win since the opening weekend of the season.

Their cause won't be helped on Saturday by the absence of a key player either, with Tom Lawrence set to miss the game through suspension, having been booked five times already this season.

Given Lawrence's proven ability going forward, the Wales international looks set to be a big miss for the Rams on Saturday, so we've taken a look at three ways manager Phillip Cocu could look to cope with that.

Bring in a like for like replacement

It is possible that Cocu will elect to try and keep things as similar as they have been with Lawrence in the side this season, by bringing in another attacking midfielder.

They do have an option to fulfil that role in the form of Jamie Paterson, who joined from fellow Championship side Bristol City on a season-long loan on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Since then, Paterson has made just three Championship appearances for the Rams, all of which have come from the bench.

This, therefore, could be just the opportunity he needs to prove that he is worthy of a more regular spot in the starting XI during his time at Pride Park, and it would certainly be a good game to make that point in.

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Take the game to Leeds with another forward

With the pressure already on Cocu to get results, he could use this as an opportunity to really make a big statement on Saturday.

One way he could do that would be to add an out and out attacker to the starting lineup, to put even more direct pressure on the Leeds defence.

A potential option to call upon to do that would be Chris Martin, who made first Derby appearance in a year and a half when he came off the bench as a late substitute in their 1-1 with Cardiff on Friday.

After that game, Cocu challenged Martin to prove his worth in the first team again, and with his contract at Pride Park set to expire at the end of this season, he, like Paterson, could see this game as the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Drop deeper to negate Leeds' attacking threat

Of course, it should not be forgotten how well Leeds have started this season, and that is certain to come into Cocu's thinking when he decides how to approach this one.

Leeds have already demonstrated their threat going forward this season, and that could mean that Lawrence's suspension is almost a blessing in disguise for the Derby boss, since it gives him a reason to potentially bring in a less-attack minded midfielder in order to restrict Leeds' own outlets in the centre of the park, and prevent the supply to attackers such as Eddie Nketiah and Patrick Bamford.

With the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Duane Holmes and Krystian Bielik all available to Cocu, he certainly has the options available to do that, should it be the approach he chooses to take on Saturday.