Preview: Stevenage vs. Derby County - prediction, team news, lineups

After beating Exeter City in midweek, Derby County will have the chance to claim a second straight victory when they face Stevenage on Saturday.

The hosts head into the weekend in seventh position, with a two-point gap to their opponents, who have two games in hand.

Match preview

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After winning promotion from League Two, Stevenage made an impressive start to their first League One campaign in ten years, losing just one of their opening nine league matches.

However, Steve Evans's side have experienced a drop off in results in recent weeks, with their last six league games producing just one win.

They looked set to claim a victory in Tuesday's away meeting with Bristol Rovers after Jamie Reid had opened the scoring in the first half, but Chris Martin's 83rd-minute equaliser denied Stevenage all three points.

As a result of the 1-1 draw, Stevenage have now failed to score more than one goal in each of their last five competitive matches.

Stevenage, who are sitting outside the playoffs on goal difference, will be confident about their chances of picking up a positive result after losing just one of their seven home games in League One (W3, D4).

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Derby have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent weeks, having lost just one of their previous nine games in all competitions.

After losing to Shrewsbury Town last weekend, the Rams bounced back to record a home 2-0 victory in Tuesday's meeting with Exeter City at Pride Park.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, before Conor Washington came off the bench to net Derby's second goal.

After extending their unbeaten home run to five matches, Derby will now head on their travels for their first competitive meeting with Stevenage.

Having picked up 13 points from seven away league matches, the Rams share the second-best away record in League One with Saturday's opponents.

Team News

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Stevenage are still unable to call upon the injured Dan Sweeney, while Jake Forster-Caskey and Terence Vancooten are doubts after being forced off in the midweek draw with Bristol Rovers.

Should Forster-Caskey and Vancooten miss out, Nathan Thompson and Ben Thompson could both be presented with starting opportunities.

Having missed the last 10 matches, Harry Anderson is closing in on a return, and he may feature among the substitutes for Saturday's encounter.

As for the Rams, they remain without the service of Liam Thompson, Jake Rooney and Tyreece John-Jules, who are all ruled out through injury.

After playing an hour for the Under-21s earlier this week, Callum Elder and Joe Ward could both be fit enough to feature on the bench at the weekend.

While Derby boss Paul Warne is set to keep changes to a minimum, he may be tempted to recall Tom Barkhuizen to the starting lineup for Saturday's encounter.

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Ashby-Harris; Wildin, N. Thompson, Piergianni, Butler; Roberts, Freeman, L. Thompson, B. Thompson, Reid; Hemmings

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Wildsmith; Nyambe, Nelson, Cashin, Forsyth; Hourihane, Bird; Mendez-Laing, Sibley, Barkhuizen; Waghorn

We say: Stevenage 1-1 Derby County

Having lost just one home league game this season, Stevenage are a tough team to beat at the Lamex Stadium, and we think that they will produce a battling display to hold Derby to a draw in Saturday's encounter.

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