Jon Stead looks set to return to the Town starting line-up for the first time since mid-September as the Blues look to end their 14-match winless run when Derby County visit Portman Road on Saturday. The game sees boss Roy Keane face his former Nottingham Forest team-mate Nigel Clough for the first time as a manager.
Stead netted Town’s goal and impressed after coming off the bench at Plymouth last week having scored twice for the reserves earlier in the week. Keane seems likely to recall the 26-year-old to his starting line-up with the Blues having been unable to take their chances in recent weeks.
The former Derby loanee is likely to partner Jon Walters with Pablo Couñago dropping to the bench alongside Tamás Priskin, who the Town boss has said could play some role.
Keane seems unlikely to make too many changes to his team with the Blues without a defeat in three games and having come close to grabbing that vital win on a number of occasions.
Asmir Begovic is set to continue in goal, David Wright at left-back and Liam Rosenior on the right. Gareth McAuley misses out with the thigh injury he sustained at Plymouth with Alex Bruce likely to replace him alongside Tommy Smith at the centre of the defence.
In midfield Carlos Edwards will continue on the right with Grant Leadbitter in the centre. Liam Trotter may come back in for Jack Colback in the centre, while Alan Quinn and Lee Martin will be hoping to get the nod ahead of Jaime Peters on the left.
Town are still without midfield duo Luciano Civelli and David Norris (knee ligaments, back December), while striker Connor Wickham is away with the England U17s.
Keane says his side really should have secured their first victory by now: "We’ll be going all out to win the game. I think we’ve been very close over the last three or four weeks. We should have at least two or three victories under our belts by now, but we haven’t.
"The longer you go without a win, the more questions you’re going to face and the more pressure. But that’s football.
"I’ve been saying for the last few weeks that I think the players have been dealing with it very well. They’re playing with great freedom and confidence. When you consider where we are, that’s unusual.
"We’re not happy, eight points out of 14 games is unacceptable, we should be doing better, but over the course of the season I still think we’re going to have a good season. Obviously we’ve had a poor start, a very poor start, but we’ve another opportunity to get that victory, although it won’t be easy.”
Derby boss Nigel Clough has a lengthy injury list including long-term absentees Chris Porter (hip) and Giles Barnes (achilles). Miles Addison is out with a foot problem, Kris Commons has a hamstring injury, Paul Green, also a foot problem, Jay McEveley a broken cheekbone, Ben Pringle a knee injury and Mark O'Brien is also currently sidelined.
Steven Davies and Stephen Pearson returned in last week’s 4-2 defeat to Queens Park Rangers but Davies is a slight doubt with a tight hamstring. Dean Leacock (mumps) and Jake Buxton (groin) are also considered doubts, but Fredrik Stoor has extended his loan from Fulham.
Clough says the injury problems have had a major effect on his club’s season, particularly at the back where he has fielded six different centre-half combinations: "Not being able to field a settle side has not helped. Shaun Barker and Dean Leacock, we said from early on that we wanted those two in there.
"When you looked up the pitch in Saturday's game against Queens Park Rangers we had Stephen Bywater, Shaun Barker and Robbie Savage — three solid units.
"But centre-halves need somebody alongside them, as midfielders do. It is not ideal when you are chopping and changing every week but we have had no choice because of the injuries. We would like to have the option to make changes through choice!
"We left Lee Croft out at Middlesbrough to go more solid across midfield but he was on after 20 minutes because Jay McEveley broke his cheekbone. You don't know but if Jay had stayed on it might have been a different result."
Derby are currently six points better off than Town in 19th with an away record of won none, drawn two and lost five.
Historically, Town have had the better of the Rams, winning 27 games (25 in the league), drawing 18 (16) and losing 22 (21).
Last season, Town doubled Saturday’s visitors, goals from Pablo Couñago and Jon Walters securing a 2-0 win at home and another Walters strike bringing a 1-0 win at Pride Park later in the season. The Portman Road win, on November 22nd last year, was Town’s last home league win on a Saturday.
Town striker Jon Stead had a spell on loan at Pride Park during his time as a Sunderland player with the Rams also making an enquiry regarding his availability in the last couple of weeks.
Kevin Lisbie, on loan at Colchester for the season or at least until January, has also spent time on loan at Pride Park.
Former Town keeper Lewis Price is a current Derby player, but is on loan at Brentford, while Jay McEveley spent time on loan with the Blues in 2005/06 and Stephen Bywater was at Portman Road for a similar spell in 2007/08.
Managers Roy Keane and Nigel Clough were at Nottingham Forest together under the Derby manager’s father, as was Town coach Tony Loughlan.
Saturday’s referee is Anthony Taylor from Greater Manchester, who has shown 25 yellow cards and two red in 13 games so far this season. Taylor’s last Town match was the 1-1 draw at home to Bristol City in April in which he booked Pim Balkestein and visiting defender Jamie McCombe.
Squad from: Begovic, R Wright, D Wright, Rosenior, Delaney, Smith, Bruce, Balkestein, Trotter, Leadbitter, Edwards, Peters, Quinn, Martin, Colback, Healy, Walters, Couñago, Stead, Priskin.