When the Rams last battled Hull they were foiled in their attempts at victory by a certain Daniel Ayala. Now that the Rams have Ayala in their colours can he make amends and help hand Derby a much needed home victory?

Derby County v Hull City  

Pride Park, Derby

The Championship

19:45pm - 22nd February 2011

P 25 W 13 D 6 L 6 F 56 A 31

Last game at Turf Moor

10/02/2007    Derby 2 – 2 Hull City;  Teale, Moore

Current Form

Hull: 10/24   P 32 W 11 D 13 L  8 F 38 A 34

Hull Leading scorers: Fryatt

Derby:   18/24  P 31 W 10 D 5 L 15 F 41 A 44

Derby Leading scorers:  Bueno, Cywka (4)

The Rams

A more upbeat Nigel Clough speaking to the BBC:

"That's now two solid away performances, with a terrible first half against

Leicester in between, we hit our rock bottom in the first half against Leicester and we are rebuilding from there." 

"I think we saw signs at Scunthorpe on Saturday, as we did at Portsmouth a couple of weeks, back that teams are having to work a bit harder to create

chances against us and that is the first step in rebuilding."

Okay a clean sheet is a clean sheet - but it might not have been.

Scunthorpe manager Ian Baraclough was livid that his side had two goals disallowed for offside;

"I have seen the DVD and both were perfectly good goals that should have been allowed to stand."

Having seen the goals I think he may have a point and Miles Addison agrees;

"I thought it was a goal, I turned around and thought, 'That's it,

they've nicked it'."

"But the linesman put his flag up and, luckily - thank the Lord - it didn't

count."

Maybe our luck is changing?

Hull will be a different kettle of fish to Scunthorpe. They are pushing for the play-offs and are playing well.

Nigel Clough asserted that he'd be happy with a draw in this game so 

some fans fear another debacle a la Leicester when we tried and failed to defend a 0- 0.

Clough is trying to bring in Hayes from Preston as a loan and another as yet unnamed striker. Clearly he recognises alone with the fans that the strikers we have cannot cut the mustard in the formation that he favours.

What about playing with a winger?

Croft is back from Notts County and though not considered good enough he might be worth a try?

Although Ben Davies has not fired the imagination of the fans yet and is drawing some approbation from some quarters, I’m assured by a Notts County supporting colleague that he's worth the money we paid - how about him out wide?

Possible Team: 

Bywater 

Brayford Barker Ayala Roberts  

Green Addison Savage B.Davies 

Ward Cywka 

SUBS: Deeney Leacock S.Davies Porter Bueno Pringle

Current Rams Squad

No.    Position    Player

1    Keeper        Stephen Bywater

2    Defender    John Brayford

3    Defender    Gareth Roberts

4    Midfield    Paul Green

5    Defender    Shaun Barker (vice-captain)

6    Defender    Dean Leacock

7    Striker        Steve Davies

8    Midfield    Robbie Savage (club captain)

10    Striker        Jamie Ward (on loan from Sheffield United)

11    Midfield    Stephen Pearson

12    Striker        Chris Porter

13    Keeper        Saul Deeney

14    Defender    Russell Anderson

16    Midfield    James Bailey

17    Defender    Jake Buxton

18    Midfield    Ben Pringle

19    Striker        Tomasz Cywka

20    Defender    Miles Addison

21    Defender    Daniel Ayala (on loan from Liverpool)

23    Striker        Conor Doyle

24    Midfield    Arnaud Mendy

25    Defender    Mark O'Brien

26    Striker        Callum Ball

27    Striker        Alberto Bueno (on loan from Real Valladolid)

28    Midfield    Ben Davies

29    Midfield    Jeff Hendrick

Hull

The Tigers need to get back to winning ways if their play off pretensions are to bear fruit.

A 1-1 Draw against Ipswich wasn't nearly good enough. Especially as it needed a late Equalizer.

Hull Manager Nigel Pearson was full of praise for his late goalscorer Jay Simpson.

"It was a clever header for the goal. He had a lot to do, to manipulate the ball like that."

"Jay's had a frustrating time. He's been out of the side and it was a good

response for him."

Hull's problem and what may prevent them making the play offs is goalscoring. They've only scored 14 at home all season although they have done better on the road.

They have a mean defence however conceding the fewest goals at home all season though again not doing so well on the road.

The Tigers are unbeaten in eight though they have drawn four.

Cameron Stewart is likely to miss the match after being stretched off on Saturday. Former Ram Craig Fagan is out with a hip injury.

Current Hull Squad

No.  Position Player

1  Keeper Matt Duke

3  Defender Andy Dawson

4  Defender Jack Hobbs (on loan from Leicester City)

7  Midfield Richard Garcia

8  Midfield James Harper

9  Striker Caleb Folan

10  Striker Craig Fagan

12  Striker Matty Fryatt

13  Keeper Mark Oxley

14  Midfield Tom Cairney

16  Defender James Chester

18  Midfield Nick Barmby

20  Midfield Jamie Devitt

21  Striker Mark Cullen

22  Midfield Robert Koren

23  Striker Jay Simpson

24  Midfield Nolberto Solano

25  Defender Anthony Gerrard (on loan from Cardiff City)

28  Midfield Corry Evans (on loan from Manchester United)

29  Keeper Vito Mannone (on loan from Arsenal)

30  Defender Liam Rosenior

31  Midfield Gavan Holohan

32  Midfield Cameron Stewart

33  Striker Aaron McLean

34  Keeper Brad Guzan (on loan from Aston Villa)

36  Defender Sonny Bradley

37  Midfield Tijani Belaid

What the bookies think

Both the Rams & Tigers are favourites at 17/10 while the draw is at 21/10.

Chris Porter & Steve Davies both get 6/2 despite not looking like they could buy a goal. Matt Fryatt is at 5/1 for the visitors.

For Those Visiting pride Park:

Driving

It’s M62, M180 and M1 to J25 for Derby. Follow Brian Clough Way towards the city until you see Pride Park on the right. The ground and away parking are signposted. About 120 miles and a two hour drive.

Parking

Away fans can park at Catalyst on London Rd opposite the Navigation pub. It's about 10-15 minutes from the ground. Don't be tempted to park at Pride Park shopping centre unless you fancy being clamped. You can also park at the Fireplace showroom just at the turn off the A52 for Pride Park.

Don’t be in a rush to leave however as it takes an age to get out of there. Another alternative is to pass the exit for Pride Park on Brian Clough Way and head for Pentagon Island... Take the first exit and turn left and after a few hundred yards you will come to The Cattle Market Car Park. It's about 10 minutes walk to the ground from here.

Drinking

There are a few pubs very close to the ground but if you come by train, the locale around the station is fairly inviting. The Crown and Cushion at the junction of London Rd always seems to be full of away supporters.

The Brunswick is a must for any real ale fans and the Alexandra next door is my personal favourite. Fans tend to mingle in these pubs and as long as you're not being aggressive, the atmosphere is good.

The Waterfall opposite the station is okay as well. If you are driving, the Navigation Pub on London Rd opposite the parking area is your best bet. Around the ground there's a Frankie & Bennie's, Harvester and the Pride Park but these tend to be very busy.

Mick's prediction

I can't see us scoring given the fact we create so little and our manager thinks we need to defend with 11 behind the ball for 90 minutes. I can't see past a Hull victory I'm afraid.

Rams 0 - 1 Hull

Photo: Action Images

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