A month or so ago, I wrote about the Rams six matches to come before the end of October and that fourteen points — or four wins and two draws — would not be too much to expect from these games.

So far, five have been played against MK Dons, Brentford, Wolves, Blackburn and Huddersfield with Rotherham to come this Saturday. With four wins and a draw to show for their efforts so far, and with Rams fans expecting nothing less than a win on Saturday, the Rams are well placed to finish off what would be an entirely satisfactory October.

The Rams are currently in fifth place in the Championship, but are top of the form table for the last six matches with fourteen points. No team has scored more goals than the Rams over the last six games and only Hull have conceded less.

Saturday’s opponents, Rotherham are second from bottom in the Championship, but they are sixteenth over the last six matches in terms of form. They have conceded a lot of goals this season, but defensively they have tightened up a lot in the last couple of months; they do not score all that many, but score quite consistently.

Former Rams keeper Lee Camp will likely be playing for Rotherham, but I should think on loan Rams defender Farrend Rawson will be excluded due to his Rams ties.

Rotherham’s leading scorer is Johnson Clarke-Harris, with three goals from nine starts; former Forest striker Matt Derbyshire is also a regular starter.

A win for the Rams would perhaps not move the Rams up significantly, since the three teams immediately above us — Hull, Burnley and Middlesbrough — all have winnable matches as well; but we could close the gap a bit on leaders Brighton, who have a difficult match at in-form Reading. Brighton could well be looking at their first defeat of the season, which could compress the top of the table even more than it currently is.

Tom Ince seems unlikely to play against Rotherham, so Weimann could be handed what would be a rare starting spot in the team.

Good news for the Rams this week was that Craig Bryson played ninety minutes for the Under-21s on Monday. While the midfield is now a strength since the team since the signings of Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield, having a player of Bryson’s quality and experience back in the squad will be a huge boost.

Looking past the weekends match, what might the month of November bring for the Rams? The new month looks distinctly more difficult than October, but our opponents look more likely to be awkward opponents rather than outstanding.

The four matches to be played in November are QPR at home on the 3rd, Nottingham Forest away on the 6th, Cardiff at home on the 21st and Hull away on the 27th.

Despite their lowly league position, Forest are unlikely to be a pushover; their form, especially at home is horrible, but if they cannot produce their best form against the Rams, they will really be in trouble.

Of the other three opponents, QPR are currently tenth, but showing mediocre form; Cardiff are eighth and in mid-table form, and Hull are second; solid defensively and hard to beat.

Three wins and a draw would be an exceptional return for the month, but if the Rams are to continue pushing for an automatic promotion place, these are the sort of results we need in these matches.

Let’s look forward to ending an excellent October on the right note on Saturday, to set the Rams up for another great month in November.

COYR!

Photo: Action Images

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