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Derby County vs. Millwall

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A low crowd should be expected for the third round replay between Derby County and Millwall after a humiliating home defeat to Scunthorpe United at the weekend. Tricky lower league opposition provides The Rams with a decent opportunity to get back on track and erase some of the pain of Saturday. Millwall haven’t played since the draw in London in the original tie so Nigel Clough will be hoping Kenny Jackett’s side will be a little rusty, and will no doubt hope they can ease some of the pressure building on him from some sections of the support by emerging victorious.

***Please note – Early indications from the club are that the game will go ahead. Should we receive any news to the contrary, information will be provided on the site.***

Vital Quotes:

Kris Commons is looking to get back on track against Millwall: ‘We had two good results on the road going into the game, so the defeat was obviously a massive disappointment,’ Commons told the official club website. ‘It needs rectifying because we have some massive games coming up in the next few weeks and for our supporters it really wasn’t good enough. Collectively as a team we made far too many mistakes and we need to re-group quickly to lift the spirit and morale for the Millwall game.

‘We have to be stronger to break down I think as individuals we need to look at ourselves. We can all do better and we have to against Millwall. We then have Peterborough and Plymouth away which are massive games for us to pick up some points and pull away from the bottom sides.’

Rams boss Nigel Clough is frustrated at the apparent lack of heart of his side. He said: “It`s far too comfortable for our opponents and there isn`t enough aggression out there, certainly we`re lacking in that.

“We`re losing games at home and I don`t see any of our lads wanting to put a foot in and smash one of the opposition players, which they should be doing, winning, losing or drawing.’

Derby County Team News:

Shaun Barker should be on the bench against Millwall having been out since the end of November with a thigh injury. After the poor defensive display against Scunthorpe it is a welcome boost. Paul Connolly should play at right-back as Nicky Hunt cannot play as a result of him not signing before the original tie. Lee Hendrie looks set to miss out too. His namesake, Croft, may play after recovering from an illness but Dean Leacock is still out of the fixture.

Player to watch: Kris Commons

With two goals in two games, Commons will be a danger to the Millwall defence. He was the only player on Saturday who made anything happen and was willing to shoot.

Millwall Team News:

Millwall’s defender Tony Craig may miss out with an an ankle injury, while loan signing Liam Trotter did not sign in time to feature, much in the same way as Nicky Hunt. Strikers Neil Harris and Gary Alexander are also both missing so the same forward line from the original tie of Steve Morison and Lewis Grabban should continue.

Player to watch: Steve Morison

Striker Morison has notched nine goals in 20 appearances this season for The Lions and at 6′ 2′ poses a considerable physical threat.

Match Facts & Stats

Last 5: Derby County

Scunthorpe United (h) 1-4

Millwall (a) 1-1

Newcastle United (a) 0-0

Blackpool (h) 0-2

Doncaster Rovers (h) 0-2

Last 5: Millwall

Derby County (h) 1-1

Bristol Rovers (h) 2-0

Norwich City (a) 0-2

Charlton Athletic (a) 4-4

Walsall (h) 2-1

Next Fixtures:

Peterborough United vs. Derby County, Saturday 16 January 2010 15:00, The Coca-Cola Football League Championship

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