Charlie Adam will take charge of his first home game as Fleetwood Town manager when his side welcome Derby County to Highbury Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts are propping up the League One table, while the promotion-chasing visitors are currently sitting in fourth position.
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Despite being in the early stages of the new year, Fleetwood are already onto their third manager of the season following the sackings of Scott Brown and Lee Johnson in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign.
Johnson, who replaced Brown in September, was dismissed at the end of December after overseeing a winless run, consisting of two draws and seven defeats across all competitons.
Adam was subsequently chosen as Johnson’s successor, but unfortunately for the former Blackpool midfielder, he began his management career with a defeat to Shrewsbury Town.
The Cod Army conceded three goals inside the opening hour, before Shaun Rooney netted a consolation goal to add a degree of respectability to the result, which leaves them rooted to the bottom of the table with five points separating them from safety.
Having conceded 42 goals in 24 league games, Fleetwood currently hold the worst defensive record in the third tier, highlighting a key area that needs improving if they are to have any chance of avoiding the drop.
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While Fleetwood are fighting for their League One survival, Derby are looking to secure promotion to the Championship with five points separating them from the top two.
That gap was down to just two points before the Rams gave up a slender advantage to lose 3-2 to promotion rivals Peterborough United in their first outing of 2024.
James Collins netted a brace to give his side a 2-1 lead, before Peterborough staged a late fightback, as Kwame Poku and Ricky-Jade Jones grabbed a goal apiece to end Derby’s nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
After falling to a narrow home defeat, the Rams will be looking to produce a positive response when they face Fleetwood for the third time this season.
Paul Warne‘s side claimed a 1-0 win in the reverse league fixture, before they cruised to a 3-0 victory in October’s EFL Trophy clash at Pride Park.
While those two results offer cause for optimism, Derby can also take confidence from the fact that they have won each of their last four away league games since losing to Stevenage at the end of October.
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Fleetwood defender Carl Johnston is a doubt for Saturday’s home contest after he missed the defeat to Shrewsbury with a knock.
Rooney, who returned from an injury layoff to score against the Shrews, is set to start a second successive game on the right side of a back four.
Forward Ronan Coughlan is expected to feature in the matchday squad, having joined on an 18-month contract from Waterford of the League of Ireland Premier Division.
As for the visitors, they remain without the services of Martyn Waghorn, Conor Washington, Korey Smith and Jake Rooney.
After returning from injury towards the end of 2023, Ryan Nyambe is expected to start a fourth consecutive game in a backline that is set to feature Curtis Nelson, Eiran Cashin and Craig Forsyth.
Collins will continue to provide Derby’s main goal threat after netting a brace against Peterborough to take his tally to 10 league goals for the season.
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Lynch; Rooney, Heneghan, Lawal, Earl; Quitirna, Dolan, Wiredu, Vela, Patterson; Stockley
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Wildsmith; Nyambe, Nelson, Cashin, Forsyth; Wilson, Bird, Hourihane, Mendez-Laing; Barkhuizen, Collins
Derby’s promotion bid may have received a setback on Monday, but we think that the Rams will return to winning ways against a Fleetwood side that have lost three of their last four home games.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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