The Rams will be hoping to make it two wins on the bounce in the Championship after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 in the first game at Pride Park of the 2024/25 season.
The game was characterised by Paul Warne’s side managing to go against the grain and diminish the threat of an attacking Middlesbrough team, and Derby County showed no cracks defensively for the full 90 minutes.
Whilst the defence put in a solid performance, they were also joined by goalkeeper Josh Vickers in ensuring that the Rams came away from the clash with their first win of the Championship campaign, and he made some impeccable saves in doing so.
Whilst Warne will be glad that he has managed to get that first win of the Championship season over the line, he has been left with a difficult decision to make as a result of the performance of one player, and he must make the correct decision on deciding whether he will get the opportunity to replicate the performance against Watford.
After what was a brilliant performance by shot-stopper Vickers against Middlesbrough, Warne must make a decision on whether to stick or twist and bring Jacob Widell Zetterstrom into the side after he joined up with the Rams.
Widell Zetterstrom was on the bench for Derby County’s win at Pride Park, however he signed only the day before the clash so was never likely to get rushed straight into the side.
Warne will have certainly been looking to bring the Swedish shot-stopper into the side following the Middlesbrough game, however he wouldn’t have envisaged Vickers playing such a brilliant game, and as a result he has been left with a crucial decision to make in his team selection.
Whilst Vickers put on a performance worthy of keeping him in the Derby County side for a run of games, Warne must make what is an incredibly bold decision and continue to drop Vickers in place for Widell Zetterstrom.
The 26-year-old Swedish international has certainly arrived with heaps of talent, and after over a week in training with the Rams, he should certainly be ready to be chucked into the side.
Like last season, Vickers was always going to be second-choice for Warne’s side this campaign, and he did his job well in slotting in for the Middlesbrough game and putting on a brilliant performance, but a talent such as Widell Zetterstrom can simply not be left on the bench, and he needs to be given the game time he needs in order to adapt to life in the Championship.
