Derby County go in search of back-to-back wins as they visit basement club Wycombe Wanderers

Derby County will look to secure back-to-back Championship victories when they travel to Adams Park on Tuesday evening. The Rams’ hosts are Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers, who are currently nine points adrift at the bottom of the table.

Survival still looks like a pipe dream for Wycombe, who are currently marooned at the bottom of the Championship, nine points behind 23rd-placed Birmingham and ten points adrift from safety. The home side will feel renewed ahead of this tricky relegation six-pointer following an incredible comeback against Huddersfield at the weekend that saw the Chairboys fight back from 2-0 down to claim a 3-2 victory.

That win allowed Gareth Ainsworth to breath a sigh of relief following a run of nine league games without a win, but the Wycombe boss will be aware that a return of two victories from the clubs last 15 games represents a dire run of form. The Chairboys have claimed just a single point from their last three league games at Adams Park.

Derby, on the other hand, are enjoying a strong revival under manager Wayne Rooney. The Rams bounced back from a 3-0 defeat against relegation rivals Rotherham with an impressive 2-1 win at the weekend against a Middlesbrough side who started the weekend in seventh place.

The away side have now moved up to 18th place in the table thanks to a return of 12 points from their last five league outings. Rooney’s side aren’t clear of the relegation battle just yet though, with just three points separating the visitors from 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday. Wycombe held Derby to a 1-1 draw when the sides met at Pride Park earlier this season, but the Rams will fancy their chances of bettering that result on Tuesday night.

Team News

Wycombe have just one confirmed absentee for the visit of Derby on Tuesday night, with central midfielder Dominic Gape missing with a leg injury. Ainsworth will look to name a largely unchanged starting XI with the return of left-back Jordan Obita and Leicester City’ loanee Admiral Muskwe the only likely changes.

Derby’ boss Rooney switched from a 4-2-3-1 system to a 4-4-2 at the weekend in order to accommodate both Colin Kazim-Richards and Lee Gregory up front. Expect both of those two to keep their spots on Tuesday night. Only one change is expected from the visitors with Jason Knight likey to move out to the right in order to open up space for the return of fellow academy graduate Max Bird.

Winger Tom Lawrence has been out of action since December with an ankle injury and is still a few weeks away from a return. Krystian Bielik has had a frustrating time with injuries since moving to Pride Park and will not be available until late March at the earliest after suffering a serious knee injury. The visitors have one more confirmed absentee, with experienced centre-back Curtis Davies also nursing an ankle injury.

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