Form guide
Derby’s last six: WDDLWL
Position: 13th in Championship
Top scorer: Carlton Morris (10 goals)
Derby are still without Carlton Morris, who hasn’t played since November because of a knee injury.
Leeds’ last six: DWDDDL
Position: 16th in Premier League
Top scorer: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (9 goals)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin starts this one on the bench for Leeds. Their starting strikers – Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha – have four goals between them this season.
Championship playoffs 2019: Definitely the most memorable meeting in recent history between these two was the second leg of the playoff semi-finals at Elland Road in 2019. After Frank Lampard had taken Marcelo Bielsa to task on spying on opposing teams, his Derby produced an extraordinary turnaround to book their place in the final at Wembley. Cue the celebrations and those chants.
I’ve had a guess at a Leeds formation but they’ve got so many attacking players in their team that we’ll have to wait until kick-off to be sure.
There are two attack-minded wingers (Gnonto and Harrison) and another three forwards (Okafor, Nmecha and Piroe), with no recognised full-backs in the XI.
The teams are in from Pride Park:
Derby (4-4-1-1): Zetterström; Ward, Langås, Batth, Forsyth; Brereton Díaz, Travis, Fraulo, Blackett-Taylor; Clark; Salvesen
Subs: O’Donnell, Agyemang, Brewster, Weimann, Ozoh, Elder, Adams, Nelson, Eames.
Leeds (3-4-3): Darlow; Bornauw, Bijol, Ampadu; Gnonto, Gruev, Tanaka, Harrison; Okafor, Piroe, Nmecha.
Subs: Perri, Byram, Justin, Struijk, Longstaff, Stach, Aaronson, Chambers, Calvert-Lewin.
As the defender Callum Elder described it this week, Derby v Leeds is “an amazing fixture”. Stuffed full of history and storylines, from the scraps of the 70s to the spy plots of Bielsa and Lampard, it is a game that never lacks a bit of needle. The rivalry renews in the FA Cup this lunchtime as John Eustace’s Championship side take on Daniel Farke’s Premier League team at Pride Park, where Elder expects a “fierce atmosphere”.
Derby haven’t beaten Leeds since those infamous 2019 Championship playoffs and will look to do so today in this midday kick-off. A spot in the fourth round is at stake.
You can get in touch with me with your thoughts on today’s game, or memories of previous meetings, via this email. Team news is coming up shortly.