Derby County will be aiming to make a quick return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, as they travel to St Andrew's to face Coventry City.

Tuesday night's 4-0 thrashing by Cardiff saw the Rams suffer just their second defeat in six games, and means they are still not out of the woods in the battle to avoid relegation from the Championship this season.

With Coventry also looking nervously over their shoulders at the bottom three, this could be an opportunity for Wayne Rooney's side to really put some breathing space between themselves and the dreaded dotted line.

With that in mind, we've taken a look here, at two big decisions that Rooney will no doubt be considering ahead of this game, as he looks to ensure his side pick up an important three points this weekend.

How many changes does he make?

It's probably fair to say that Rooney sprung something of a surprise with his team selection against Cardiff, naming a side that showed six changes from the one that had drawn with Nottingham Forest the previous weekend.

That is something that seemingly did not work out for Derby, who were heavily beaten by the Bluebirds despite enjoying the vast majority of possession.

As a result, it seems Rooney will now have to juggle selecting his best XI for Saturday's game, without the damaging the confidence too much, of players who may already have been hit hard by the events of Tuesday night when they were brought into the side.

Which loanee drops out for Patrick Roberts?

One player who Rooney has confirmed will come back into the squad for this afternoon's game, is Manchester City loanee Patrick Roberts.

The winger was left out of the side for that defeat to Cardiff in midweek, something Rooney has put down to the fact that he is one of six loanees currently in Derby's side, with clubs only allowed to have a maximum of five in any matchday squad.

As a result, with Roberts set to return to the side this weekend, Rooney must now decide which of his other fives loanees - Lee Gregory, Teden Mengi, Matt Clarke, Beni Baningime and George Edmundson - will drop out of the squad to allow Roberts to come back in.