Preview: Derby County vs. Birmingham City

Two damaging defeats have threatened to derail Derby County's promotion bid ahead of their meeting with Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.

Successive 2-0 defeats to Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion have come as a shock, and have arrived at a time when all of the promotion hopefuls are under pressure to find their best form.

Despite the disappointing results, Steve McClaren's side remain second, but with just six points separating top and seventh, the Rams boss is fully aware that they can't afford for the slump to be extended.

Losing strikers Chris Martin and Darren Bent has done little to improve McClaren's move, and he has admitted that he will look into the loan market, which means that a new arrival could be involved this weekend.

Before then, Johnny Russell is likely to be trusted to lead the attack at the iPro Stadium, and the pressure will be on the likes of Tom Ince and Jamie Ward to provide support.

Birmingham head into the match with renewed confidence following two victories in the past week, and Gary Rowett will be eyeing a spot in the top half of the table as he looks to deal another blow to Derby's promotion hopes.

A 1-0 victory over Blackpool in midweek was difficult to watch at times, but Rowett is likely to name an unchanged side as he looks to build on the momentum they have gained in recent days.

Derby cruised to a 4-0 victory over Birmingham when the two sides last met on Boxing Day, and the Blues have won just one of the previous six meetings.

Derby:

Form in Championship: DDWWLL Form in all competitions: LDWWLL

Possible starting lineup: Grant, Shotton, Keogh, Buxton, Forsyth, Mascarell, Hughes, Hendrick, Ince, Ward, Russell

Birmingham:

Recent form: LDLLWW

Possible starting lineup: Randolph, Caddis, Spector, Kiernan, Grounds, Davis, Tesche, Cotterill, Shinnie, Gray, Donaldson

Sports Mole says: 2-1