Bristol City will welcome Derby County at the Ashton Gate, with the visitors having dropped 19 points adrift of the safety in the Championship standings.
Derby will move to within 19 points of the hosts with a win, with Bristol City currently sitting at position 18 in the table.
Derby have recently had a sensational performance, having bonced back from another points deduction by picking up four points from Bournemouth and Fulham.
Although, the loss to Queens Park Rangers on Monday after initially being ahead, has affected the club, and it emphasises the amount of task ahead of them currently.
They have collected five points from four games. However, Derby County have fallen far behind their battle to stay in the league with 26 matches remaining.
Even though Rooney and his side will be impressed with the level of performance, results matter more at this level, and Derby need to travel to the South-West going strong for all the three points.
Tom Lawrence has showcased his capability of delivering in the final third over the past five games, having contributed three goals and two assists.
Meanwhile, for Bristol City, they are heading into another chance of extending their recent improvement at Ashton Gate, with a three-match unbeaten run being collected after nine months without success.
However, their 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Sunday made it seven losses from 11 matches, leaving them seven points above the relagation zone.
The Robins should a lot of quality to ever become involved in a battle to avoid the drop, but Nigel Pearson knows well that remaining in the bottom half of the table over the coming months will put his job in jeopardy.
He can however take positives from the last two home fixtures, following a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers, with a 1-0 victory over Stoke City.
Bristol City vs Derby County head to head
The two English outfits have previously met in 37 occassions. Derby County are leading with 16 victories over 12 of Bristol City, and have drawn 9 times. Derby have scored 52 goals and conceded 45. In their last five meetings, Bristol City have won three and Derby County two.
Bristol City 1-2 Derby County 14/07/19
Derby County 1-2 Bristol City 20/08/19
Bristol City 3-2 Derby County 12/02/20
Bristol City 1-0 Derby County 21/11/21
Derby County 1-0 Bristol City 30/01/21
Bristol City latest home form
Bristol City are currently in a good form at home, as they have not lost in any of their last three fixtures, despite having lost successively to Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest. In their last five home matches, they have won two, drawn one and lost two all in the Championship.
Bristol City 0-2 AFC Bournemouth 16/10/21
Bristol City 1-2 Nottingham Forest 19/10/21
Bristol City 2-1 Barnsley 30/10/21
Bristol City 1-1 Blackburn Rovers 20/11/21
Bristol City 1-0 Stoke City 24/11/21
Bristol City latest away form
Unlike their recent improvement at home, Bristol City have failed to perform well on the road. They have lost in all of their last four fixtures, with their last win being on the 2nd of October, a 3-2 Victory over Peterborough United. In their last five, they have scored 5 and conceded 13.
Peterborough United 2-3 Bristol City 02/10/21
West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Bristol City 23/10/21
Birmingham City 3-0 Bristol City 02/11/21
Coventry City 3-2 Bristol City 06/11/21
Sheffield United 2-0 Bristol City 28/11/21
Derby County latest home form
Despite losing 2-1 to Queens Park Rangers in their last match at home, Derby County have had a relatively good form at home, having lost just two of their last ten matches on the home turf. In their last five, they have won one, drawn two and lost two.
Derby County 0-0 Swansea City 02/10/21
Derby County 2-2 Luton Town 19/10/21
Derby County 1-2 Blackburn Rovers 30/10/21
Derby County 3-2 AFC Bournemouth 21/11/21
Derby County 1-2 Queens Park Rangers 29/11/21
Derby County latest away form
The Rams have recently tried to put some effort in their away fixtures. Despite recently losing to Barnsley, they did not lose their last two matches, drawing with both Millwall and Fulham last month. In their last five, they have lost just one and drawn four all in the Championship.
Preston North End 0-0 Derby County 16/10/21
Coventry 1-1 Derby County 23/10/21
Barnsley 2-1 Derby County 03/11/21
Millwall 1-1 Derby County 06/11/21
Fulham 0-0 Derby County 24/11/21
Bristol City news
Nathan Baker will be missing out with a head injury, but Rob Atkinson will return to replace him in Bristol City’s XI.
Pearson is likely not to make many changes in the squad, as Andy King, Matty James and Joe Williams still on the sidelines. But Nahki Wells would potentially come back into the attack.
Derby County news
Rooney may make a few alterations on his starting lineup, allowing back Festy Ebosele and Colin Kazim-Richards, with Revel Morrison and Jason Knight being the players who are most likely to drop out of the squad, as Lee Buchanan and Sam baldock remaing out deu to injury.
Prediction and Odds
Derby will be travelling to Ashton Gate with an aim of collecting all the three points, as a draw could proof to be less valuable to them.
However, Bristol City have put up some good performance in their last encounters, which gives the game possibilities of outcomes, but we could see a draw or away win.
Odds: 1 2.35 X 3.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Bristol City 0-0 Derby County
Bristol City 1-1 Derby County
Bristol City 2-2 Derby County
Bristol City 0-1 Derby County
Bristol City 1-0 Derby County
