D.J's MatchDay Preview: Rams To Conquer Clough & Co. At The iPro
Saturday, 7th Feb 2015 12:12 by Daniel J Sewart

The Rams return to the iPro full of confidence after a successful trip to Cardiff last weekend while Bolton arrive hoping to bounce back from mid-week heartbreak in the FA Cup.

Derby will be hoping that Bolton’s recent average league form continues and that the late loss to Liverpool in the cup, will still be weighing heavily on their minds.

Neil Lennon has done a good job of pulling his team away from the drop zone since arriving in Bolton but more recently things have started to slip a bit. Wanderers will want to arrest their recent slide and avoid being pulled back down into the drop zone - which despite currently sitting 14th - they are still only 7 points clear of.

The Trotters visit a Rams team in a rich vein of form having won 7 of their last 8 matches — plus the recent additions to Derby’s squad in Ince and Lingard - only add to the depth that will be available from the bench.

Seeing the likes of Bent and Co. warming the pine, will be intimidating for any team as Derby can inject top quality players, who would be in a starting line-up in any other Championship team, if required.

At the back Richard Keogh will likely be partnered by who is the fitter out of Jake Buxton, who is likely to have recovered from an ankle injury, or Raul Albentosa who is likely to return from a slight hamstring strain. If neither are 100% then Shotton will move to the centre of defence with Christie coming in at Right Back as he did last weekend.

Tom Ince and Jesse Lingard have come straight into the squad for the match, with Ince the most likely to start, replacing Dawkins out wide who has been struggling to fill the shoes of Johnny Russell. Fans will be excited to get their first look at these talented youngsters, who they hope will turn out to be the final piece of the puzzle in the Rams promotion push.

Hendrick is another whose form has been down and with Bryson fit again, it is likely we will see the two swap places in the starting line-up to partner Will Hughes, who himself has no such issues and finally recaptured the sensational form he displayed earlier in the season.

For Bolton, Neil Lennon has some options to choose from as forward Adam Le Fondre returns plus new signings Barry Bannan, Filip Twardzik and Simeon Slavchev will all be available to make their debuts.

Darren Pratley is out with a torn hamstring; Saidy Janko will miss with an ankle injury and Neil Danns is serving a suspension after being sent off during the Trotters midweek FA Cup defeat against Liverpool.

Wanderers do not have a hit man who has regularly troubled the scoresheet with Davies, Mills and Pratley the best this campaign with 5 apiece. Le Fondre will be a threat and old stagers Gudjohnsen or Heskey still have enough class to inflict damage if they get hold of the ball in the a dangerous position.

The lively Zach Clough (no relation!) is also one to look out for as he is quick and likes to attack goal — and frankly it would be ironic, not to mention a journalists dream headline, if a ‘Clough’ scored against Derby.

When all is said and done Derby should be in a different class to the inconsistent Bolton who have had more downs than ups this campaign. They are much improved under Lennon, who has lifted them from bottom of the Championship, but the new manager honeymoon is starting to show signs it could be slipping slightly.

The likes of Hughes, Bryson, Ward, and Mascarell in the midfield will give the visitors a torrid time while Martin will be looking to score his 20th of the season in front of the adoring home faithful

And if it is not going to plan, being able to bring on Darren Bent to get behind a tired defence, is a luxury for the Rams that no tiring opposition would relish.

I expect Derby to dominate but they must be aware that this Bolton team has had their fighting spirit re-instilled by Lennon and cannot get complacent. If they watched the Trotters FA Cup ties against Liverpool, they will realise that if they give the visitors an inch they will take a mile.

For me, it’s a reasonably comfortable win for the Rams that will set up a mouth watering mid-week top of the table clash against Bournemouth.

Martin to get his 20th, Ince and Lingard to make their debuts and Bent to cause havoc in the Bolton box in the closing stages.

A 3-1 win to Derby with Martin, Ward and Bent to score for the Rams with Clough to score for Bolton - if for no other reason than that’s the kind of thing that happens to Derby.

COYR!!

League Form / Match Stats:

Derby — 2nd (W, W, L, W, W):

Derby have only beaten Bolton once in their last 7 clashes - that at the Macron in September of last year (see video below).

Derby are unbeaten in their last 4 meetings against Bolton at home — having on 1 and drawn 3.

The Rams have won 7 of their last 8 matches in all competitions and have only lost 1 of their last 7 at home.

Bolton — 14th (L, D, W, L, D):

Bolton have not won away to Derby since of October of 1999.

Neil Lennon’s side have been struggling again of late - with no wins in their last 4 matches in all competitions and only 1 win in their ast 4 Championship fixtures.