Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Championship match.
Stoke City faced an additional challenge in midweek, having played a League Cup match against Southampton on Tuesday. The game was eventful but didn't bring much joy to their fans. Do Derby County have a big chance to secure victory thanks to a full week of rest?
Stoke City
Against the Premier League's bottom side, Narcís Pèlach fielded only three outfield players from the match against Sheffield United. He then brought on four midfielders in the second half who played against Sheffield United. This mixed lineup narrowly lost to Southampton's near-full strength side (2:3), despite levelling the score from 0:2 in the second half. In the Championship, Stoke City don't often put on such high-scoring displays. The recent home draw with Bristol City (2:2) was one of them. Otherwise, the total under 2.5 has prevailed in four out of six instances.
Derby County
Derby County have also stopped delivering big scores. They've scored exactly two goals in each of their last five games—no more, no less. This has resulted in three draws and one win each for Derby County and Sunderland. Will they win this time? A piece of good news for County fans: they have stopped losing on the road, with their last two away matches ending in 1:1 draws.
Stoke City vs Derby County Prediction
The probability of seeing another low-scoring match, with no more than two goals, is quite high. It's best to bet on a total under 2.5.
