Derby County will be looking to record back-to-back wins in League One when they make a trip to face Morecambe, in order to boost their promotion chances this season.
While the hosts shared points away at Wycombe Wanderers last time out, the visitors come off the back of a home win over Bristol Rovers.
Following a 10-year absence from League One, Morecambe made their return last season and managed to retain their status for the 2022-23 campaign, finishing 19th and narrowly avoiding an immediate return to League Two.
Being the division’s lowest scorers, Derek Adams’ side have unsurprisingly found it difficult to take matches away from their opponents and have just two victories to their name so far this season.
The home supporters at the Mazuma Stadium have had little to celebrate since the beginning of the season, with their side managing just four goals in their opening seven home games.
Meanwhile, Derby County are realising that escaping League One at the first attempt is not as easy as many fallen Championship clubs anticipate, with the Rams currently 13 points adrift of the automatic-promotion pace.
An impressive 4-2 victory over Bristol Rovers on Saturday is the type of result Derby fans assumed would be a regular occurence in the East Midlands but, their side have won just seven of their 15 league matches.
The Rams’ away form is a major reason why Paul Warne’s side have not been able to keep up with the pace-setters at the top of the division so far, with Derby picking up just eight points from seven league matches, a record that does not align with the club’s ambitions of an immediate return to the Championship.
This will be the first meeting between the sides since a friendly in 2011, and a repeat of the 1-1 scoreline is a likelihood.
Morecambe vs Derby County head to head
These two teams have previously met on just one occasion in a friendly, where they played out a 1-1 draw back in 2011.
Morecambe 1-1 Derby County 22/07/11
Morecambe latest home form
Morecambe have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Barnsley 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded seven.
Morecambe 0-3 Sheffield Wednesday 13/09/22
Morecambe (P)0-0 Hartlepool United 20/09/22
Morecambe 1-2 Cambridge United 24/09/22
Morecambe 1-2 Ipswich Town 08/10/22
Morecambe 1-0 Barnsley 22/10/22
Morecambe latest away form
Morecambe have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having been winless in their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Wycombe Wanderers in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded eight.
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Morecambe 01/10/22
Burton Albion 1-1 Morecambe 15/10/22
Harrogate Town 2-1 Morecambe 18/10/22
Cheltenham Town 1-0 Morecambe 25/10/22
Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Morecambe 29/10/22
Derby County latest home form
Derby County have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, having won just two of their six most recent matches. They defeated Bristol City 4-2 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and also conceded eight.
Derby County 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers 17/09/22
Derby County 1-2 Port Vale 08/10/22
Derby County 1-3 Manchester City U21 18/10/22
Derby County 0-0 Exeter City 25/10/22
Derby County 4-2 Bristol Rovers 29/10/22
Derby County latest away form
Derby County have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their seven most recent matches. They lost 1-0 to Ipswich Town in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded four.
Lincoln City 2-0 Derby County 13/09/22
Cambridge United 0-2 Derby County 01/10/22
Mansfield Town (P)1-1 Derby County 04/10/22
Accrington Stanley 0-3 Derby County 15/10/22
Ipswich Town 1-0 Derby County 21/10/22
Morecambe news
Morecambe will take to the pitch without midfielder Donald Love, who picked up his fifth booking of the season against Wycombe and will therefore serve a one-game suspension.
That could see Jensen Weir drop further back in the midfield to allow Adam Mayor a spot in the XI after equalising off the bench on Saturday.
Derby County news
Derby County are likely to retain the XI that beat Bristol Rovers on Saturday, with hat-trick hero McGoldrick looking to add to his six goal contributions so far this season.
Conor Hourihane will sit this one out after collecting a fifth yellow card of the season, with Louie Sibley potentially replacing him in midfield.
Prediction and Odds
Derby County have not been convincing away from home so far this season but following the weekend’s victory, they will feel confident of defeating a struggling Morecambe side.
The hosts have a poor home goalscoring record this year and it is hard to see that trend going away any soon.
Odds: 1 2.98 X 2.05 2 2.21
Probable outcomes
Morecambe 0-1 Derby County
Morecambe 0-2 Derby County
Morecambe 1-2 Derby County
Morecambe 1-3 Derby County
Morecambe 1-1 Derby County
