Championship Live! Derby County V Newcastle United

Shamrock

Welcome one and all to Championship match day, a day in which Rafa Benitez’ Newcastle United visits the i-pro Stadium (otherwise known as Pride Park) to take on Nigel Pearson’s Derby County. Pearson is a familiar face to the Toon Army, having been assistant and caretaker manager from 2006 to 2007. All sentiment goes out the window today however – and knowing Nigel, he won’t spare a second thought for Newcastle whilst he tries to unhinge their season and spark Derby’s into life.

Amongst the favorites for a play-off place this season, The Rams sit in 18th place having began the campaign poorly with only one win under their belt. Their most recent league outing resulted in a disappointing 1-0 loss at relegation favorites Burton Albion. The Magpies meanwhile, are title favorites and currently find themselves in 5th place having recovered from an opening two defeats to now be seeking a 4th straight league victory. Their last league outing was a very reassuring 2-0 win against fellow promotion rivals Brighton & Hove despite not having first choice forwards Dwight Gayle or Aleksander Mitrovic available.

Newcastle have not won at Derby since 2002, when Laurent Robert, Kieron Dyer and Lomana Lua-Lua launched a stinging comeback from 2 goals down to win 3-2. Their last win at Pride Park prior to that was in 1998, when they prevailed in a classic Premier League 4-3 game during which the late great and cult hero of mine Gary Speed netted a well earnt double. The last game between the two sides in Derby was a 3-0 win for the Rams when goals from Rob Hulse, Kris Commons and Shaun Barker comprehensively saw the Magpies off.

Today’s game kicks off at 17:30 and will feature live on Sky Sports, so hopefully for those with no access to Sky TV, links will be found on the internet. Steve McClaren will NOT feature from the Sky Sports studio today (cue collective sigh of relief from Toon Army and Derby fans alike), so everybody can enjoy watching the game without being reminded of the horrors of the Grin Reaper’s past whilst at the helm of both sides. The game will be referee’d by Newport-born journeyman James Linnington, who has spent the years mostly rawling through the Championship to League 2 on a week-by-week basis. He is not a lucky omen for either of today’s sides. Newcastle’s last game with Linnington in charge was a 4-3 FA Cup loss to West Brom in 2010, when he dished out 4 yellows for the Toon and a controversial red for Ryan Taylor. Derby have only won 1 of their last 5 with the Isle of Wight refee in charge. Their last home game being a heavy 3-0 loss to Reading in 2015.

Lets get to it then and have a look at the line-ups. It sounds as if Derby are setting out with a 4-4-2 in order to try and address an alarming lack of goals in which they have only made 1 so far this season. Newcastle meanwhile appear to be playing it safe, with Gouffran getting another chance following his sharp appearing performance against Brighton. New signing Christian Atsu has failed to force his way into the squad today, whilst Deandre Yedlin and Achraf Lazaar both make the bench. Isaac Hayden has been rotated out in place of Jack Colback. One might consider that a risk given Hayden is well rested following the International break and has been such an influential figure so far this season.

derby-line-up

Newcastle United:

lineup-v-derby

So there it is. Game On!

HWTL.

About Shamrock

Like everyone here, support Newcastle United. Not the easiest side to feel good about at times, but it's our side!

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158 thoughts on “Championship Live! Derby County V Newcastle United”

  2. Cheers Sham, nice preview, Speedo’s birthday last week I believe, still hard to believe he’s no longer with us.
    Would like to think we’d get another win under our belt today, hopefully the international break hasn’t upset our momentum. I would like to know what the Huddersfield players are drinking they are flying, no one saw that coming.

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  4. Big game for Colback today. He has a point to prove and really needs to step his game up if he wants to consider himself serious competition for Hayden, who is my player of the season so far.

    I’m concerned the line up is a bit conservative, but in Rafa we trust!

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  8. Fun fact: The only player in either of today’s squads actually born in Derby is a Newcastle player – Captain Jamaal Lascelles. Derby only have 1 player in their squad born in the county – youngster Max Lowe.

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  23. kimtoon:
    Neets is so much better at Rb than Janmaat was

    Seems like it. Different league of course, he looked the better defender last year too when he got a run.

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  24. Stuart79:
    It’s strange watching us. We look like we’ve been coached…

    Pass and move. Not rocket science is it? No idea why it takes Rafa to come in to get players to understand the basics of football.

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  27. 2 worrying g things there. Mbemba made a rookie mistake and then Selz was slow to react to the floating cross. Both need to wake up.

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  28. This is following a very familiar pattern as to when we were in the Fizzy before. We didn’t dominate every game, but we did just enough.

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  31. Getting sloppy here! Need to get going! Mitro up top might help. Hold it up a bit better. I’d look at Hayden for Shelvey too.

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  35. Stuart79:
    Getting sloppy here! Need to get going! Mitro up top might help. Hold it up a bit better. I’d look at Hayden for Shelvey too.

    me too Stu, Shelvey is on a yellow too

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  36. Sham, I only got home half hour before the match meself, been up my cousins for a BBQ, think a lot are making most of last of the fine weather.

    Oh Diame, should of scored lad

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  43. Similar to here then, except it’s been showing in and off. I was out in garden for 2 hours in the pi$$!Ng rain this morning g doing emergency repairs on the kids playhouse.

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  48. Shamrock:
    Similar to here then, except it’s been showing in and off. I was out in garden for 2 hours in the pi$$!Ng rain this morning g doing emergency repairs on the kids playhouse.

    😀 anything for a quiet life eh Sham

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  69. All of Rafa’s teams have always just done enough. Don’t often win by big margins but well drilled and clinical. Everything we’ve started to become.

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  70. Had Liverpool on as well and there was a terrible backpass by Lucas for the Leicester goal. Liverpool might have signaled the end of the Leicester honeymoon. They won easily but Mackem Hemderson blasted over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Is he still their Captain? Was the worst player on the pitch again.

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  71. Not sure about Barnsley and Huddersfield. There’s usually a few teams get off to a flyer and then come back down to earth because their luck changes and they have thin squads.

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  72. Well I’m still around and was watching the match rather than posting. On live here on Bein sports. A bit nervy at 1-0 for so long, and I’m always nervous when we are sitting at this scoreline. Diame missed a few sitters but Gouff’s goal was amazing. He played well today. Probably my MoM today I think. Up to second. Amazing that Huddersfield won away again. It’s very very tight at the top. One loss and the right teams winning could see us tumbling.

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  75. Stuart79:
    This is following a very familiar pattern as to when we were in the Fizzy before. We didn’t dominate every game, but we did just enough.

    True, but if we get the three points who cares? When they have to play two games a week in a lot of weeks, then there’s no point asking the players to knacker themselves, we only need to score one more than the opposition. In fact, we won the last two games quite comfortably I thought, considering it was against “promotion rivals”. It took us a few games to wake up but we’re well up and running now, there’ll be a few blips and a few lucky wins but as long as we win most of the games that’s all that matters. The thing that matters most to me is what will Ashley and Charnley’s attitude be, if we get promoted again. Will they try and coast again, or will they show actual ambition to challenge the top 6?

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