Paul Warne urged to axe Derby County summer signing and start 30-year-old v Stoke City | OneFootball

The Rams head into the clash off the back of three consecutive 1-1 draws.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Derby County are still looking for their first away victory of the season, and will be hoping that their trip to Stoke City on Saturday is the chance for them to get off the mark on the road.

They did pick up their first two points of the campaign away from home in their previous two matches, drawing 1-1 against both Millwall and Oxford United, with Jerry Yates and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing scoring their first goals of the season in those matches.

Nevertheless, with the Potters' inconsistencies at the bet365 Stadium, and the Rams four unbeaten in the league, this weekend will be seen as a great opportunity for Paul Warne's side to pick up their first three away points in 2024/25.

Their record against Stoke is relatively good, with Derby coming out on top in their previous two meetings, and they will be hoping for a repeat of their December 2021 exploits when goals from Luke Plange and Colin Kazim-Richards earned the Rams their second of their three away victories in that season.

Warne urged to make switch in midfield

The Rams came back from a goal down to complete a hat-trick of 1-1 draws last weekend against Hull City, with Dajaune Brown heading in his first career goal, however, performance levels were not fantastic and Warne may look to changes.

The midfield struggled to break through the lines at points, perhaps fearing the high-line that the Tigers attacked with, and it could be an area that the former Rotherham United boss targets when making changes.

Football League World's Derby Fan Pundit, Shaun Woodward, was asked for the one change he would make to the starting XI against Stoke.

He said: "I'd definitely make some tweaks, seeing as it's away from home I’d be tempted to make more than one change, but if I can only say one, I would probably look at Marcus Harness coming out of the side and Ben Osborn coming into the midfield.

"I think away from home that just gives us a bit more strength in there, a bit more know-how. I think if it was at home, it's a different story, but away from home, I think you need to have two of the three in the midfield that are a bit more minded and a bit more of the know-how to sit on the draw or 1-0 lead if we're lucky."

Shaun continued: "So, for me, Osborn in for Harness, I would be tempted also to start Corey Blackett-Taylor, but I think being away from home he can come off the bench as an impact player, a bit like Brown did the other day.

"I think all our subs that came on did really well, they could all justify that they deserve a start in the team. But for me being away from home, I would just make the one change of Osborn in for Harness."

Derby must not surrender a lead if they get one

Away form has been a huge issue for Derby this season, and has been their downfall in terms of their league positioning. 13 of their 15 points have come at Pride Park so far, and if they had even picked up just three more points on the road, they would be three places higher in the table.

At times, they have let go of leads through silly mistakes, and this cannot happen again. But also, they must start games with the intent that they end them with. The Rams dropped two points against Oxford last Tuesday due to a poor start, and although they were able to equalise, they left themselves too much to do to find a winner.

Stoke's home form is not good, they have failed to win four of their six matches at the bet365 Stadium, and the Rams must put similar pressure on them to keep that rut going.

Nevertheless, concentration will have to be high across the pitch, including in midfield whether Osborn is picked over Harness or not. The Potters have the ability to beat teams who are not at their best, and could put Derby to the sword if they do not apply their high standards on Saturday.