First a beef: A Tuesday night trip to Southampton is poor planning when you consider that even the most fanatical of the Derby travelling support are going to have difficulty getting to this one.

Southampton v Derby County

Coca Cola Championship

7:45pm, 10th March 2009

St Mary's, Southampton

Okay Plymouth fans have a longer journey to Swansea, and Cardiff fans face another long haul to Norwich - but surely the League's computer could be set up to arrange shorter local trips as midweek fixtures?

Southampton are desperate to stay in the Championship. It looked unlikely under former manager Jan Poortvliet who only won one game in 14 home games.  Mark Wotte was quick to change form the rigid 4-3-3 formation that proved so disastrous under Poortvliet and the results have picked up. Two Draws and three wins - including 3 on the trot in the last 3 games - has seen Saints move up the table. They are still third from bottom, but they aren't looking as doomed as they once were.

The run of wins came to an end away at Birmingham on Saturday. Wotte after the game;

"What concerned me was conceding a goal just before half-time. We cannot concede a goal like that after they had played for 10 minutes with only 10 men when Lee Carsley was off the field."

Wotte is looking to put the Saints back on track to safety with the game tonight and at home to QPR on Saturday. Adam Lallana Should be back after injury however former Ram Lee Holmes has only just returned to training.

Saints facts

The Rams

For the travelling few, it must be a temptation to take their boots given the injury crisis at Pride Park. Kris Commons, Paul Green and Miles Addison are definitely out while Chris Porter and Jay McEveley look like joining them. It's a headache for Nigel Clough just as he looked like getting a settled team. Loan signing from Watford, John Eustace should go straight into the team.

Clough was pleased to take three points on Saturday - particularly after the midweek draw;

"Without a doubt it is the most pleasing three points since I have been here. It was the way we achieved it without playing great and taking the game to the opposition. I think it has evened itself out after midweek. The way the games went you might have thought we would have got three points on Wednesday."

The Rams will be looking to reshuffle again as the injury toll mounts. I imagine Clough would like to rest Savage and Hulse both of whom look to have been fading fast at the end of the last few matches. He hasn't been able to due to the lack of depth in the squad and I'd expect both to start tonight.

Whether Sterjovski will continue along side Savage will depend on how Clough viewed his contribution. He passed well and created the first goal - but it was apparent that he's not a central midfielder. Whether Eustace has enough match fitness or has had the time to meet his team mates will decide.

Hulse has been scoring a lot recently and Clough is likely to leave him in the team. His partner will be the big issue. Chris Porter looks sharp but is possibly injured. Nathan Ellington and Tito Villa are ready made replacements but both seem down the pecking order. Nacer Barazite in the Kris Commons role might be an idea but the Sterjowski could also fulfill that role.

In Defence Jordan Stewart is likely to replace Jay McEveley who is another player who has played his way back into the team.

Mick's Team: Bywater, Connolly, Albrechtsen, Nyatanga, Stewart, Teale, Savage, Eustace, Todd, Barazite, Hulse

What the Bookies think

The Saints are 7/5 favourites for the double over the Rams while you can get 2/1 from William Hill for the Rams. The draw is at 11/5.  Marek Saganowski is the home favourite to score at 6/4 while Nathan Ellington and Rob Hulse and Chris Porter all rate 15/8. It's clear from looking at William Hill's site that they never look at who has been playing recently. Ellington hasn't started in ages yet still rates favourite to score.

Information for Travelling Fans 

Driving: It's 170 miles to Southampton and a four hour drive at the best of times.  Take the M1 south to J15 and then take the A43 past Silverstone to the M40. Take the M40 South to J9 with the M3 then take the M3 to J12. Take the A33 towards Southampton until you reach the junction with the A3024 Northam Road. Turn left and then turn right onto the B3038  Britannia Road. The stadium is on this road.

Parking: There's almost no parking at the ground and the best bet is to head into the city centre and use the car parks there. Footballgroundguide.com recommends parking at the Marina area and then taking the ten minute walk to the ground. Parking in this area has the advantage that at the end of the game, you can avoid the city centre gridlock, by heading along the coast on the A3024 and then onto the M271/M27.

Drinking: Not many pubs local to the stadium and most fans end up in the city centre. There's a pub called the Coopers Arms on Belvedere Road 10mins walk away through the industrial estate on Britannia Rd.

Mick's prediction

If we play like we did against Bristol, we could get turned over. That said, the grit and determination was there from the players and it's not so long ago that we would have collapsed to a three or four goal thrashing under that much pressure so anything is possible. Play as good as we have done recently and we could snatch it.

Photo: Action Images

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