It is no secret that Derby County are one of the best sides in the league and even though Birmingham City managed to hold them to a 1-1 draw back in August, this weekends fixture could be a lot more open.
The Rams are currently second in the Sky Bet Championship and they are a very tough nut to crack at home this season with Paul Clements side having only lost once at home all season.
Blues however do have a fairly good away record with Gary Rowett’s men having recorded an impressive 20 points so far this season, which is exactly half of their points tally.
Derby have spent a considerable amount of money on their side and it could be argued that they have more quality then Blues, but on their day Birmingham City can give any team a run for their money as we saw at Middlesbrough in December.
Looking at both sides for this weeks five-a-side team and picking the players was very tough because there are that many good players that I really didn’t want to have to miss them all out.
However, I feel as though I have picked the best possible team for this week. I have included three Derby County players and two Birmingham City players. Lets go…
GK: Lee Grant.
The County shot stopper has kept 13 clean sheets so far this season which is quite jaw dropping and Blues will find it tough to beat him.
Despite those clean sheets, he does have a clanger in his back pocket and if Blues press the right buttons, something unexpected could happen.
At home, Grant has conceded nine goals and he will be hoping that Blues don’t take his tally into double figures this weekend but because of his great record he just had to be in my team.
DF: Paul Robinson.
A bit of a strange one given all the talent in the Derby back line but Robinson has been really good for Blues since he has come back from injury and even though he hasn’t kept as many clean sheets as he would have liked he has sured up the team a little.
The passion that the former West Bromwich Albion defender shows when he puts on a Birmingham City shirt meant that he needed to be in this weeks team as passion is something that we are going to need on Saturday.
MF: Thomas Ince and Jacob Butterfield.
Ince is having yet another fantastic season and I really think he has found his feet with the Rams.
So far this term, the 23 year old winger has found the back of the net eight times and despite a little injury, his form hasn’t taken a knock.
The way I see it, if you stop Ince, you stop Derby County. Many teams haven’t been able to shut him down this season, especially Bristol City and that is why I have included him in this weeks side.
Next to Ince I have put Butterfield. Since joining the club on September 1st 2015, the 25 year old midfielder has made 26 appearances in all competitions and he has scored six goals.
As a midfielder who likes to get forward, Butterfield has more goals than Blues’ top goal scorer Clayton Donaldson.
However, not only does he have the goal scoring ability that Blues boss Rowett would love to have in his side, he also has a fantastic awareness of the game and for that reason, he is in my five-a-side team this week.
ST: Clayton Donaldson.
Again, Derby fans that are reading this are probably asking themselves, why has he included Donaldson when he hasn’t found the back of the net since November.
Well I’ll tell you this for nothing, Donaldson is vital to how Birmingham City play and without him, things would crumble when going forward.
I could have certainly included James Vaughan in the side but because it is highly unlikely that he will start ahead of the former Brentford striker, I opted against choosing him.
Yes, Derby have some fantastic strikers, but for me, Donaldson was the only real contender.
Blues and Derby fans, do you agree with the five-a-side team that has been picked for this weekends game? Who would you have in your side? Let us know in the comment section down below!
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