Match Preview: Derby County v Stevenage (Saturday, 3pm)

Stevenage travel to Derby County on Saturday in League One.

The visitors come into the game on the back of a defeat in their last match, having lost to Bristol Rovers 3-2 at home, with goals from Jake Forster-Caskey and Kane Hemmings.

The Rams, meanwhile, won their last match, 3-0 against Exeter City, with their goals scored by Tom Barkhuizen, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Max Bird.

With 57 goals in 32 games so far this season, Derby are the league’s second-highest scorers with 1.8 goals per game. And they are conceding fewer than average, letting in 29 goals at a rate of 0.9 per game.

Stevenage are also above average scorers, with 1.5 goals per game, compared to a league average of 1.3. They have conceded 1.1 goals per game.

County are second in the table after 32 games, of which they have won 19 and drawn six, earning 63 points.

The Boro are five places behind the Rams in seventh, with 15 wins and eight draws putting them on 53 points.

In Jamie Reid, the visitors have the league’s most on-form striker so far this season. He has notched 17 goals in 30 appearances.

His goal rate of one every 142 minutes is quicker than that of James Collins, the home team’s top scorer with a goal every 173 minutes, and a total of 13 goals in 32 games.

Derby are in reasonable form in League One, with three wins and two draws from their last six games.

With three wins and a draw over that period, Stevenage’s form is slightly worse – they have taken 10 points from 18, compared to Derby’s 11.

Over the last two years, Derby and Stevenage have played each other twice. Stevenage won both of them.

Their last meeting was on October 28, when Stevenage won 3-1 at home.

Saturday’s match will be refereed by Tom Reeves, who has taken charge of 11 League One games so far this season, issuing three red cards and booking 39 players. He has awarded four penalties.

The last Derby game Reeves refereed was a 2-1 home win against Bristol Rovers on November 25. He is yet to oversee a match featuring Stevenage this season.

Derby County v Stevenage
League One | Pride Park Stadium
Saturday, 17 February 2024 @ 3.00pm

Claim a free bet for this match preview from Interbet.com

For exclusive stories and all the detailed EFL news you need, subscribe to The Football League Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.