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Aiming to pick up their third consecutive EFL Championship win for the first time this season, Derby County visit the bet365 Stadium to face Stoke City on Thursday.
The hosts will head into the game seeking to get one over the visitors and move into the promotion playoff zone.
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Stoke City failed to make it two wins from two as they were held to an uneventful goalless draw by a resilient Middlesbrough side.
This followed a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers which saw their two-game losing streak come to an end.
With 35 points from 22 games, Stoke City are currently eighth in the EFL Championship table, one point behind Huddersfield Town in the final playoff spot.
Meanwhile, Derby County stunned West Bromwich Albion last time out as they secured a hard-earned 1-0 win when the sides met at Pride Park Stadium.
Wayne Rooney’s men have now won two games on the spin following a 1-0 victory over Blackpool in their previous outing.
The result brought no changes to Derby County’s league position as they remain rooted to the bottom of the table after claiming seven points from 23 games.
Stoke City vs Derby County Head-To-Head
Derby County boast a superior record in the history of this fixture, claiming 54 wins from the last 138 meetings between the teams. Stoke City have won 43 games in that time, while the spoils have been shared on 41 different occasions.
Stoke City Form Guide: W-L-L-W-D
Derby County Form Guide: D-L-L-W-W
Stoke City vs Derby County Team News
Stoke City
Romaine Sawyers, Harry Souttar, Josef Bursik, Nick Powell and Jordan Thompson are all recuperating from injuries and will miss the game.
Injured: Romaine Sawyers, Harry Souttar, Josef Bursik, Nick Powell, Jordan Thompson
Suspended: None
Derby County
The Rams remain without Krystian Bielik, Lee Buchanan and Jack Stretton, who have all been sidelined through injuries.
Injured: Krystian Bielik, Lee Buchanan, Jack Stretton
Suspended: None
Stoke City vs Derby County Predicted XI
Stoke City Predicted XI (5-3-2): Adam Davies; Tommy Smith, Danny Batth, Ben Wilmot, Morgan Fox, Josh Tymon; Mario Vrancic, Sam Clucas, Joe Allen; Tyrese Campbell, Jacob Brown.
Derby County Predicted XI (4-3-3): Kelle Roos; Craig Forsyth, Curtis Davies, Phil Jagielka, Nathan Byrne; Graeme Shinnie, Liam Thompson, Max Bird; Jason Knight, Colin Kazim-Richards, Tom Lawrence
Stoke City vs Derby County Prediction
Looking at past meetings between the two sides, we can expect an exciting contest on Thursday. While Derby County head into the game in rejuvenated form, they have failed to defeat Stoke City in their last three visits to the bet365 Stadium.
We predict the hosts will return to winning ways in this one and move into playoff contention.
Prediction: Stoke City 2-0 Derby County
