Derby County and Stoke City will be aiming to guarantee their EFL Championship place next term as they lock horns in a thrilling season finale at Pride Park on Sunday. Both sides are at risk of going down as they find themselves within just two points of the relegation zone.
Derby County picked up three huge points in their race to beat the drop as they secured a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Hull City at the MKM Stadium last weekend.
Before that, the Rams snapped their four-game winless run on April 21 when they cruised to a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
Derby have picked up 49 points from their 45 matches so far to sit 19th in the Championship standings, one point and one place below this weekend’s visitors, and just two points above the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Stoke City failed to guarantee their Championship status for another season last time out when they fell to a 2-0 loss against Sheffield United at the bet365 Stadium.
This followed a humbling 6-0 thrashing at the hands of title-chasing Leeds United on April 21, a result which saw their five-game unbeaten run come to an end.
While Stoke will look to get the job done on the last day of the season, they will need to be at their best at Pride Park, where they have failed to win their last five visits since a 2-0 victory in January 2012.
Derby and Stoke have seen their battle for survival go down to the wire and we expect both sides to take a cautious approach at Pride Park as both sides look to avoid defeat.
That said, we predict they will cancel out each other’s efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
Prediction: Derby County 1-1 Stoke City
Tip 1: Result - Draw
Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - No (There have been fewer than three goals scored in five of Stoke’s last six games)
Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in the fourth of the hosts’ last five outings)