Derby County’s Under-21s will start 2023 when they head to Southampton on Friday evening.
The Under-21s will take on the Saints at the Snows Stadium (7pm kick-off) and dcfc.co.uk has brought together all the key information you will need to know ahead of the game.
Team News...
Defender Max Bardell and midfielder Darren Robinson returned to the fold following injury lay-offs prior to Christmas and are expected to continue to step up their match minutes.
Midfielder Connor Dixon also made his return in mid-December to make his first appearance of the season, in the Premier League Cup victory at Brighton & Hove Albion, before the festive break.
Defender Will Grewal-Pollard and forward Sonny Blu Lo-Everton were sidelined before the turn of the year owing to injury and are unlikely to feature once again.
Jake Rooney, Kwaku Oduroh and Osazee Aghatise could get match minutes after recently being in-and-around the first-team set-up but have rarely been in the matchday squads.
Defender Leigh Kavanagh and
midfielder Joe Haigh are set to return to Brighton & Hove Albion and
Chelsea respectively after half-season loans with the Under-21s and won’t
feature.
2022/23 Season So Far...
The Under-21s won four games in a row going into Christmas to extend their unbeaten run to five matches.
Three of the wins came in the Premier League Cup for Pat Lyons’ side to reach the knockout stages of the competition, while a victory at Graham Street Prims in the Derbyshire Senior Cup set them up for a Fourth Round trip to Alfreton Town this month.
In Premier League 2 - Division 2, Derby do have some work to do after tasting nine defeats from nine matches in the league so far in a challenging start to the season but their recent unbeaten run has provided a solid platform for them to start to kick-start their campaign.
To view the Under-21s' full 2022/23 fixture list, please click here.
Live Stream...
RamsTV is not streaming the game live on Friday night.
Full match highlights from the Premier League 2 - Division 2 clash will appear online on dcfc.co.uk following the match.