Michael O’Neill’s Stoke faces Wayne Rooney’s Derby with both managers transforming their sides over the recent season

Michael O’Neill and Wayne Rooney are two managers that have transformed both clubs since taking over at Stoke and Derby, respectably.

O’Neill has taken Stoke from relegation bound to potential Play-Off candidates for the future. The former Northern Ireland manager has heavily invested in youth, transforming Tyrese Campbell, Harry Souttar and Nathan Collins this season, all of whom have come out of the Stoke academy.

However, this season has been challenging for the Potters, with fans left ultimately disappointed by the promising start they had. Being in second place, now they sit 11th in the Championship and 12 points off a potential Play-Off place. Stoke have had injury problems this season which has led to their fall from the promotion places.

Their top scorer, Campbell, suffered a severe knee injury against Cardiff in December and was ruled out for the rest of the season. The striker looked like one of the most in-form players in the Championship, so his injury was a significant blow for The Potters.

They’ve now been rotating Steven Fletcher, who has eight goals this season but is also injury prone and Sam Vokes, who hasn’t scored for Stoke in the Championship this season. Fletcher isn’t available for their clash against Derby, so Vokes is the favourite to start, but it could present an opportunity for both Jacob Brown and young Christian Norton to play.

Stoke have been rotating goalkeepers this season due to injuries; Angus Gunn, Adam Davies and Joe Bursik have all been the number one goalkeeper at some stage this season. Davies looks to have reclaimed the jersey from Angus Gunn, who came under criticism from fans after the on-loan Southampton goalkeeper conceded 11 goals in his last five matches.

It was 0-0 the last time these sides met in a somewhat dull affair, and no real clear-cut chances for either team at Pride Park. The Potters come into the game on the back of a 0-0 draw to Cardiff in which Adam Davies looked to reclaim the number one shirt and Stoke had a promising performance.

Derby come into the game looking to build on their comeback against high-flying Brentford. They face a Stoke team who haven’t scored in their last two games and are without their central striker, so the Rams have a perfect opportunity to win this evenly matched tie.

The Rams, like Stoke, are going through a similar transitional period under new manager Wayne Rooney. They have also invested in youth with Max Bird, Lee Buchanan, Louis Sibley and Jason Knight, who all graduated from the academy system all featuring this season. Rooney took over Derby with them in the relegation places and destined for League One.

Rooney replaced Philip Cocu in December and in his first five games they were unbeaten, winning once and drawing four times, keeping three clean sheets in a row. Since then, Derby have climbed their way up to 19th and eight points clear of relegation.

The Rams will be without Lee Gregory, who is on loan at Derby from Stoke. The forward scored in his last game against Brentford, so would’ve hoped to get a scoring streak going. He has three goals already since joining, putting him joint second on the Derby top scorer list this season.

A win for Stoke would all but confirm their safety in the Championship for next season and a win for Derby would put them six points away from the top half and 11 points clear of the relegation places.

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