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24 min: Blackett-Taylor is looking dangerous for Derby. He tries his luck again, a bit closer in this time, and his shot is blocked before it can trouble Darlow.
23 min: Salvesen is getting through a fair bit of work up front for Derby. He tries to win a corner off Bijol by the flag but the Leeds defender manages to clear. Nmecha then slips during a promising breakaway.
21 min: Clark shows a flash of quality, nutmegging Tanaka out wide before getting bumped to the floor a bit further infield. Forsyth sends the free-kick to the back post and Batth heads wide. A decent chance.
19 min: Debutant Fraulo goes into the book for Derby after a foul in midfield. He bashes the ball into the ground in frustration and that’s what gets him the yellow.
17 min: It’s been a bit flat so far. A midday kick-off has certainly not contributed to creating an atmosphere. There’s a bit of home excitement as a ball is played over the top to Brereton Diaz but his volley is neither shot nor pass and Darlow gathers.
15 min: Ward’s corner goes over everyone and drifts out for a goal-kick.
14 min: Blackett-Taylor is getting some joy down Derby’s left. He has a shot across goal that is blocked by Bornauw out for a corner.
“I’m a little disappointed you didn’t make an Ao, let’s go Ramones joke at kick off,” writes Phil. “Or maybe I’m just a sad old man making dad jokes...."
Gah, what an opportunity.
11 min: Nmecha drives down the Leeds right. A stepover or two later and he forces a corner off Batth. Harrison’s whipped delivery is headed away by Langas.
9 min: Gnonto should do better. The Italian chases a long ball down-field but his pass to Nmecha is behind the target. Okafor follows up but his shot is high and wide.
8 min: Tanaka bumps into Brereton Diaz in midfield and is penalised. The Leeds man falls awkwardly on his hand and gives it a little shake to demonstrate this but he’s all right.
6 min: “No Piroe, no party” the travelling supporters chant, reviving a regular tune from last season. He’s playing in a deeper role behind Okafor and Nmecha, with Gnonto at right wing-back and Harrison on the left. Blackett-Taylor forces a corner for Derby but Leeds deal with Ward’s delivery.
4 min: Leeds come again down the left and Okafor’s cross is blocked out for a corner by Ward. Tanaka takes but Ward heads away at the near post.
2 min: Leeds’ first foray into the Derby box comes up short as Langas comes across and clears his lines.
KICK-OFF
Ao Tanaka gets the ball rolling for Leeds, who are in blue.
The teams are heading out at Pride Park. Robbie Savage, working as a pundit pitchside, has been doing some keepy-uppies with a ball boy. Anthony Taylor is in charge for this one. The scene is set: kick-off is next.
Oscar Fraulo makes his debut for Derby this lunchtime having signed on a deal until 2029 from Borussia Mönchengladbach last week. The midfielder played for Denmark at the Under-21 Euros last summer and scored his first Bundesliga goal in November.
Track the latest deals this January using our transfer interactive:
Karl Darlow gets the nod in goal for Leeds today but there is still no place for Illan Meslier in the matchday squad – he’s not been involved on the bench since November.
Leeds’ first-choice keeper, Lucas Perri, came under fire in midweek for his performance against Newcastle, particularly for his failure to keep out Harvey Barnes’s late winner. Daniel Farke didn’t exactly rush to Perri’s defence at full time:
I can’t lie, I can’t say how he was man of the match and there were unbelievable saves. Of course, you need also sometimes in a crucial moment a proper save from your goalkeeper. Of course, today it was definitely a situation where you should save the ball. I can’t lie and pretend any other, that it would be a different scenario because otherwise you wouldn’t believe me any more. I name it how I see it and at this moment, certainly I can’t protect him from the criticism that he should have saved it.
Form guide
Derby’s last six: WDDLWL
Position: 13th in Championship
Top scorer: Carlton Morris (10 goals)
Derby are still without Carlton Morris, who hasn’t played since November because of a knee injury.
Leeds’ last six: DWDDDL
Position: 16th in Premier League
Top scorer: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (9 goals)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin starts this one on the bench for Leeds. Their starting strikers – Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha – have four goals between them this season.
Championship playoffs 2019: Definitely the most memorable meeting in recent history between these two was the second leg of the playoff semi-finals at Elland Road in 2019. After Frank Lampard had taken Marcelo Bielsa to task on spying on opposing teams, his Derby produced an extraordinary turnaround to book their place in the final at Wembley. Cue the celebrations and those chants.
I’ve had a guess at a Leeds formation but they’ve got so many attacking players in their team that we’ll have to wait until kick-off to be sure.
There are two attack-minded wingers (Gnonto and Harrison) and another three forwards (Okafor, Nmecha and Piroe), with no recognised full-backs in the XI.
Starting lineups
The teams are in from Pride Park:
Derby (4-4-1-1): Zetterström; Ward, Langås, Batth, Forsyth; Brereton Díaz, Travis, Fraulo, Blackett-Taylor; Clark; Salvesen
Subs: O’Donnell, Agyemang, Brewster, Weimann, Ozoh, Elder, Adams, Nelson, Eames.
Leeds (3-4-3): Darlow; Bornauw, Bijol, Ampadu; Gnonto, Gruev, Tanaka, Harrison; Okafor, Piroe, Nmecha.
Subs: Perri, Byram, Justin, Struijk, Longstaff, Stach, Aaronson, Chambers, Calvert-Lewin.
Preamble
As the defender Callum Elder described it this week, Derby v Leeds is “an amazing fixture”. Stuffed full of history and storylines, from the scraps of the 70s to the spy plots of Bielsa and Lampard, it is a game that never lacks a bit of needle. The rivalry renews in the FA Cup this lunchtime as John Eustace’s Championship side take on Daniel Farke’s Premier League team at Pride Park, where Elder expects a “fierce atmosphere”.
Derby haven’t beaten Leeds since those infamous 2019 Championship playoffs and will look to do so today in this midday kick-off. A spot in the fourth round is at stake.
You can get in touch with me with your thoughts on today’s game, or memories of previous meetings, via this email. Team news is coming up shortly.
