Our prediction for this Championship match:
Stoke City
Match Time & Date:
30/12/2021
20:45
Prediction: 2-0
Derby
Bet365 Stadium will host Thursday’s football game between Stoke City and Derby County, the two teams with entirely different ambitions in the 2021/2022 Championship campaign. The Potters are eyeing a place in the playoffs, while Derby’s main goal is to avoid relegation to League One. Stoke City have not been in action since December 11, 2021 when they played out a goalless draw with Middlesbrough, and, no doubt, they are eager to return to winning ways in the English second tier.
All Romaine Sawyers, Josef Bursik, Jordan Thompson, Harry Souttar, and Nick Powell are out of contention with injuries. The Rams are stuck at the bottom of the standings with only four points in their pocket, and given their poor away record, we believe that there is a big value in betting on the home team. All Ebosele, Kazim-Richards, Morrison, Roos, and Burne have been tested positive for coronavirus, speaking of the away team.
Highlighted Player (Steven Fletcher):
Steven Fletcher is a professional footballer who plays for Sheffield Wednesday. After ending his loan spell with Marseille, he joined the Owls on a free transfer in July 2016. Steven Fletcher was born in Shrewsbury, England on 26 March, 1987 and he began his youth career at Hibernian.
He made his debut for the Scottish outfit on 10 April, 2004 in a 3-0 win over Kilmarnock. After spending three years at Burnley and Wolverhampton Fletcher signed a four-year deal with Sunderland for a fee of £12 million. The left-footed attacker scored 11 goals in 28 appearances for the Black Cats in the 2012/2013 Premier League campaign and he was struggling in front of goal in the 2013/2014 season, scoring no more than three league goals.
Steven Fletcher was eligible to play for both England and Scotland, but he decided to represent his mother’s home country. Fletcher made his Scotland debut in March 2008, in a friendly against Croatia. He did well to provide an assist for Kenny Miller, who scored the equaliser for the Scotts (1-1).
Highlighted Team (Derby):
Derby County is one of the 12 founder members of the Football League. However, nowadays the Rams compete in the Championship and they play their home matches at Pride Park Stadium. Derby County have won the two trophies in the English top flight (1971/1972, 1974/1975), with the team lifting the FA Cup trophy just after the World War II (1946).
Derby’s main rivals are Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Leeds United, but the rivalry between Forest and Derby is regarded as the biggest one.
The two teams take on each other in the East Midlands derby. The colour of Derby’s shirts is white, whilst their shorts are black. It has to be noted that the club was founded in 1884 by William Morley. The Rams competed in the European competitions four times, but they did not record a notable result in the European Cups. The club’s chairman is Mel Morris.
