"Get back to winning ways": Derby County look to bounce back against Cheltenham Town

Derby County have the chance to bounce back this weekend as they face Cheltenham Town at Pride Park Stadium.

The Rams have faltered somewhat in their past few games with a couple of disappointing performances including Tuesday night's 1-0 loss away at Reading.

Paul Warne will be keen to get back to winning ways and not let his side slip out of automatic promotion contention.

Derby had the chance to go to the top of League One on Tuesday but were unable to take the chance. They haven't scored a goal in their last two games and will be desperate to put things right on Saturday.

They face a Cheltenham Town side who sit in 22nd, seven points off safety and in need of points.

Cheltenham Town's goal woes

The Robins have been poor this season, most notably in front of goal. They have scored just 19 goals from 26 games and are the second-lowest scoring team in League One.

Darrell Clarke's side have been hurt by the departure of striker Alfie May in the summer who was their nailed on goalscoring threat.

Since his move to Charlton, May has scored 16 league goals which is almost as many as his former team have scordd this season.

Their biggest goal threats have been midfielder Liam Sercombe and striker Will Goodwin, both of whom have six goals this season.

Sercombe, 33, scored twice in the Robins' surprise win over league leaders Portsmouth earlier in the month showing that he can prove to be a dangerous threat going forward.

However, the lack of goals has really been an issue and Cheltenham will have to be on form on Saturday as they face a Derby side who have conceded the fourth-fewest goals in League One and are tough to break down.

Uninspiring Rams

It is difficult to criticise the Rams after they went on a run since November where they won 10 of 12 games in the league. However, they now find themselves winless in two and looking precarious.

On Saturday, Derby found themselves in what only can be described as dull 0-0 draw away to Lincoln City. Paul Warne's side struggled to find any sort of firepower going forward and so came away with just a point.

Then, to make matters worse, they lost 1-0 against relegation-fighting Reading on Tuesday night in what was a fairly dismal display.

Playing a struggling team like Cheltenham seems like the perfect opportunity to bounce back, but if they fail to do so, questions may arise over whether the Rams are capable of an automatic promotion push.

Predictions

Despite Derby's poor showings in their last two, the Rams are still very strong favourites for Saturday's game. With a good defensive record against a low scoring Cheltenham, they should be looking at a clean sheet.

Furthermore, ignoring the past two, Derby's scoring record has been fairly good too, especially at home.

Paul Warne will also be hoping to see a big impact from Corey Blackett-Taylor in his Pride Park debut.

It is not likely to be a classic, more of a slightly dull 90 minutes of football, but looking at recent form and all the statistics, a 1-0 or 2-0 Derby win seems a reasonable prediction.