EFL Championship 2019/20: Derby County vs Stoke City

In midweek we were treated to a round of games, and the action doesn’t stop there with this match-up between Derby County and Stoke City. Stoke are undergoing a revival of sorts currently under head coach Michael O’Neill. Coming into this the Potters were four games unbeaten in the EFL Championship, including eye-catching away win’s at Huddersfield and high-flyers West Brom.

Derby have had an inconsistent campaign thus far. Phillip Cocu’s arrival in the summer has not brought about the boost Derby fans will have hoped for and they’re currently languishing in 16^th place, 10 points off the play-off positions.

In this tactical analysis, we shall dissect the tactics employed by both teams and use analysis to see why Derby got the three points.

Line-ups

Both managers opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation. Derby, coming off a disappointing 3-2 defeat at bottom side Luton Town, made a total of two changes. Veteran striker Chris Martin came in at centre-forward allowing Martyn Waghorn to return to the wide-right position. Additionally, Craig Forsyth replaced the suspended Max Lowe at left-back.

Stoke made just a single change, also at left-back. Bruno Martins Indi reported feeling unwell and it was left to Josh Tymon to fill in and make his first start of the season.

Derby build-up

Playing two wingers on opposite sides to their stronger foot means they will naturally come inside centrally. In addition to this, the two Derby full-backs are attack-minded in nature and like to affect the game in the final third, these tendencies complement each other perfectly. This attacking nature is showed by the fact Forsyth got an assist and Jayden Bogle rounded off the scoring. Wayne Rooney, whilst dropping deeper in the later stages of his career, possesses the technical ability to make a valuable contribution to the Rams attacking play.