PREVIEW: Derby travel to Oakwell in search of back-to-back victories

The Rams are on the road as they travel to face Barnsley on Wednesday, looking to build upon the victory they got against Birmingham on Saturday.

Phillip Cocu’s yet to get back-to-back victories in the league this season, something the Dutchman will be wanting to remedy in the midweek fixture.

---

The Opposition

Barnsley come into the game in 22nd, losing four out of their last five games under manager Daniel Stendel.

Stendel has set Barnsley up this season mainly using one of two formations, a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1. However, the German coach has shown he can change it about, using a 4-4-1-1 in the last game which ended in a 3-1 defeat to Brentford.

Where Barnsley have struggled most is going forward, averaging 0.64 goals a match and a 1.04 xG compared to a 1.6 xGA and conceding 1.73 goals a game on average.

---

Previous Meetings

The Rams got the better of the Tykes on both occasions they met in the league two seasons ago. The first at Oakwell ended 3-0 to Derby, with Tom Lawrence, Matej Vydra and Andi Weimann on the scoresheet in December of 2017.

The second match was the last game of the 2017/18 season, where Rowett’s side won 4-1 to relegate the visiting Barnsley. Cameron Jerome, Vydra, David Nugent and Lawrence put Derby four goals to the good before George Moncur scored a consolation in the last ten minutes.

---

Team News

Derby have no new injury concerns for Phillip Cocu to contend with, with long term injuries and some squad admissions the only current issues within the squad.

Stendel’s squad have a clean bill of health coming into the tie and will be hoping that his squad depth can help him get a much needed result from the game.