Two sides fighting at opposite ends of the League One table will both be vying to extend impressive runs of form on Saturday, as Derby County welcome Morecambe to Pride Park.
The hosts sit fourth thanks to a run of five straight victories in England's third tier, while their visitors have won four of their last five league matches to climb out of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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In their bid to win an immediate promotion back to the Championship this season, Derby County find themselves in an eye-catching run of form under the management of Paul Warne, having gone 14 games unbeaten in England's third tier dating back to late October.
That run started with six draws and three victories for the Rams, but they appear to have found more of a winning formula in recent weeks, with each of their last five league outings producing three points, as they firstly beat Cambridge United, Accrington Stanley and Cheltenham Town to move closer to the leading pack.
Warne's men then made it four on the bounce with a hard-fought 2-1 win at home to Bolton Wanderers, before travelling to Port Vale in their last third-tier game and triumphing by the same scoreline, despite trailing by a goal to nil going into the final few minutes, as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing drew them level before David McGoldrick netted the decisive goal in the final minute before injury time.
They now head into Saturday's contest on the back of a difficult FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to top-flight West Ham United, and the Derbyshire outfit bowed out of the competition following a 2-0 defeat, as Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio hit goals early in the first and second halves respectively.
Now with their attention fully back on the league, having climbed to fourth place thanks to their winning run with a four-point gap up to third-placed Ipswich Town and eight points separating them and Sheffield Wednesday, Warne's men will aim to give their hopes of promotion another boost and make it six league three-point hauls in a row on Saturday at Pride Park.
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Their visitors arrive with plenty of confidence of their own, having hugely improved their standing in the fight for survival in recent weeks.
With just two wins and 15 points on the board from their opening 22 League One matches, Morecambe sat in a particularly concerning position at the bottom of League One, but they would then pull off a crucial 2-0 victory at home to Accrington Stanley before the turn of the year to end an eight-game winless run.
Aiming to build on that and move closer to safety, Derek Adams's side went from strength to strength, following it up with a 5-0 thrashing of Albion on New Year's Day, courtesy of braces from Kieran Phillips and Caleb Watts and a Jensen Weir goal, before making it three on the bounce with a 2-1 beating of Cheltenham Town as Phillips and Weir were again on the scoresheet.
After their improvement was briefly halted by a 4-0 defeat away at promotion-chasing Ipswich Town, the Shrimps were most recently in action at home to Bristol Rovers last weekend, and they made it four victories from a five-match span in League One with another dominant display, dishing out a 5-1 thrashing to Bristol Rovers as Daniel Crowley, Donald Love, Cole Stockton and Adam Mayor all found the net alongside a James Connolly own goal before Aaron Collins put the only blemish on the afternoon with a consolation for the visitors in injury time.
Thanks to their eye-catching upturn in form, Morecambe have quickly risen from the foot of the table to 19th spot, although still boasting just a two-point lead over the drop zone, they will know they cannot let up and will aim to continue their climb with what would be a particularly impressive result at Pride Park.
Team News
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Derby County will likely remain without key attacker David McGoldrick, who missed the West Ham cup tie through injury, and James Collins will again lead the line in his absence, having netted seven League One goals so far this season.
He will have plenty of support in a 4-2-3-1 setup, with Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Tom Barkhuizen set to operate on the flanks, while Jason Knight will feature in an advanced midfield role ahead of Conor Hourihane and Max Bird.
Young defender Eiran Cashin will be vying to come back into the defence, after Warne went with the experienced centre-back pairing of Curtis Davies and Craig Forsyth last time out, with Korey Smith again set to play in a makeshift role on the right-hand side of the back four.
While forward Kieran Phillips did return to parent club Huddersfield Town in January, Morecambe do still have goals coming from several members of their squad, and Cole Stockton will continue to lead the line as he aims to find the form he displayed last season, in which he netted 23 goals in League One.
It is Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Jensen Weir who tops their scoring charts at this stage, having netted nine goals from midfield this season, including eight in England's third tier, and he will again play a key role alongside Liam Shaw in the engine room, with fellow attacking threat Caleb Watts unlikely to feature in his more advanced role after missing the Bristol Rovers triumph.
With Adams expected to deploy an unchanged starting XI after their resounding win last time out, Jacob Bedeau, Farrend Rawson and Dynel Simeu should again line up in a back three in front of goalkeeper Connor Ripley.
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Smith, Cashin, Davies, Roberts; Hourihane, Bird; Mendez-Laing, Knight, Barkhuizen; Collins
Morecambe possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Bedeau, Rawson, Simeu; Love, Weir, Shaw, Gibson; Crowley; Stockton, Mellon
We say: Derby County 2-1 Morecambe
Given their recent results, Morecambe will certainly travel with plenty of confidence, and they do have the quality to pull off a result, but we anticipate Warne's men being slightly too strong, and with plenty of momentum of their own, the Rams should take all three points on home turf.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
