Will Nigel Clough's revived Derby team revert to old habits - or are the League leaders in for a surprise on their way back to the Premier League?

Derby County v Newcastle United
Coca Cola Championship
Pride Park, Derby
Tuesday 9th February 2010 - 19:45pm

The Magpies:

Current League Position: 1/24
Leading Scorer: Kevin Nolan 10lg 1cp
Manager: Chris Hughton
Kit home: Black & White striped shirts/Black shorts
Kit away: Yellow & White striped shirts/Yellow shorts
Last game: Newcastle 5 - 1 Cardiff

Quotes from the manager:

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton speaking to the BBC about Ady Carroll:

"Potentially he's number nine material. He's a player who leads the line."

"In some ways, he's an old-fashioned centre-forward who has a prowess in the air, but he's still developing."

"He has good football skills for a big man, but what he has to add is goals and he was able to do that tonight."

Current Toon Squad:

No. Position. Player
1 Keeper Steve Harper
2 Defender Fabricio Coloccini
3 Defender José Enrique
4 Midfield Kevin Nolan
5 Defender Fitz Hall (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)
6 Defender Mike Williamson
7 Midfield Joey Barton
8 Midfield Danny Guthrie
10 Midfield Wayne Routledge
11 Striker Peter Løvenkrands
12 Defender Danny Simpson
14 Defender Patrick van Aanholt (on loan from Chelsea)
16 Midfield Ryan Taylor
17 Midfield Alan Smith (vice-captain)
18 Midfield Jonás Gutiérrez
20 Striker Leon Best
21 Midfield Fabrice Pancrate
22 Midfield Nicky Butt (captain)
23 Striker Shola Ameobi
24 Striker Andy Carroll
25 Midfield Kazenga LuaLua
26 Keeper Tim Krul
27 Defender Steven Taylor
28 Defender Tamás Kádár
30 Striker Nile Ranger
35 Defender Ben Tozer
41 Midfield Shane Ferguson
42 Striker Ryan Donaldson
43 Midfield Jonny Godsmark
44 Defender James Tavernier
46 Midfield Haris Vuckic

The Rams:

Quotes from the manager:

To the BBC following the Blunt's late equalizer:

"A couple of things cost us, and one of them was failing to get that second goal."

"We were comfortable and should have been two or three up by the time that went in."

"We had plenty of opportunities to begin with and should have been out of sight. But, overall, I thought our performance was excellent."

Current Rams Squad:

No. Position. Player
1 Keeper Stephen Bywater
2 Defender Paul Connolly
3 Defender James McEveley
4 Midfield Paul Green
5 Defender Miles Addison (vice-captain)
6 Defender Dean Leacock
7 Midfield Lee Croft
8 Midfield Robbie Savage (captain)
9 Striker Rob Hulse
10 Midfield Kris Commons
11 Midfield Gary Teale
12 Striker Chris Porter
13 Keeper Saul Deeney
14 Defender Shaun Barker
16 Midfield Stephen Pearson
17 Defender Jake Buxton
18 Midfield Ben Pringle
19 Midfield Michael Tonge (on loan from Stoke City F.C.)
20 Striker Steve Davies
21 Defender Dean Moxey
22 Midfield Arnaud Mendy
23 Defender Mark O'Brien
24 Defender Nicky Hunt (on loan from Bolton Wanderers F.C.)
26 Midfield Lee Hendrie
27 Defender Russell Anderson
28 Defender Mitchell Hanson
33 Defender Mark Dudley
35 Striker Callum Ball
-- Defender Javan Vidal (on loan from Manchester City F.C)
-- Midfield Dave Martin (on loand from Millwall F.C.)

What the Bookies think:

Home Win: 10/3
Draw: 12/5
Away win: 5/6

Derby to win 1 - 0: 6/1

Information for travelling fans:

Driving: Driving: It's about 170miles to Derby from Newcastle. Best route is A1 to the M1 then south to Junction 25 with Brian Clough Way (A52). Head west to Derby and follow the ring road south to London Rd. See below for parking. According to the RAC, it's about a three hour drive but given that the traffic is liable to be heavy, I'd give it a little bit longer.

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:

Only an inability to find a second goal and a late lapse stopped us taking all three points on Saturday. On the back of an excellent performance against the Trickies, it looks as if maybe the team is finding a bit of confidence to take into games.

That shouldn't be translated into cockiness - as the Toon will soon burst that bubble if we let them - but it does mean we at fans have to nurture that confidence rather than get on the teams back if things go wrong.

Newcastle brushed aside Cardiff at the weekend and predictions that they would find this league hard (including my own) were wide of the mark.

Newcastle took a gamble on the clubs finances by keeping most of the Premier League squad and presumably their Premier League contracts. I dread to think what would happen to Newcastle if they went on a bad run and failed to get promoted.

Depending upon how the deal closes, we could have Millwall winger Dave Martin in the squad for tonight. Martin has clearly been bought in to provide more bullets for the target men. Rob Hulse is an excellent goalscorer but without the service, he will struggle to finish. So far, few of our wide midfield men have been able to provide anything consistently.

Some have suggested that the wide men have been having to pick he ball up to deep as they are having to cover the defence. There may be some truth in this - so as we now have a settled defence, maybe wing-play will start to feature? I hope so

Mick's Team:

Bywater, Hunt, Barker, Buxton, McEveley, Green, Savage, Tonge, Pearson, Commons, Hulse - Subs: Vidal, Deeney, Teale, Pringle, Anderson, Porter, Davies, Moxey

Mick's Prediction:

Derby 1-1 Newcastle

Photo: Action Images

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