Derby County pair may have Sky Sports motivation to rob Stoke City, Tom Cannon of Portsmouth repeat | OneFootball

The centre-backs will have to be at their best to stop the Leicester City loanee.

Derby County are still in the hunt for their first away victory of the season and will be hoping that it is seventh time lucky at Stoke City on Saturday lunchtime.

The Rams picked up their first two points on the road in the previous matches away from DE24, drawing 1-1 with both Millwall and Oxford United before completing a hat-trick of 1-1 stalemates against Hull City on their own patch last weekend.

Nevertheless, the fixture is one that Derby have historically been decent in, winning four of the last 10 meetings, drawing three and losing three. They have won both of their last two clashes against the Potters, running out 2-1 winners at the bet365 Stadium and Pride Park under the guidance of Wayne Rooney in the 2021/22 campaign.

But, this time there is a new challenge for Paul Warne's side, as Stoke boast one of the most exciting strikers in the Championship in their ranks and while he has not quite had the rub of the green so far, he proved in one October evening just how deadly he can be. It means that the Rams' centre-backs, Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin, will have to be at their best to stop any potential threat.

Cashin and Nelson will want to deny Tom Cannon repeating Portsmouth exploits

Cannon's move to the Potters has been a bizarre one, as while he has scored five times in 10 appearances in all competitions, his goals have come in just two matches - meaning that he has fired blanks on eight occasions.

However, that does not mean that the Rams can rest on their laurels, and Cashin and Nelson must work out a plan to stop Cannon from having a night like he did against Portsmouth at the start of October when he scored four of Stoke's six goals.

The presence of the Sky Sports cameras will also bring a different factor into the game, and Derby's centre-back pairing could push all the pressure onto the Leicester City loanee who will want to impress his parent club on live TV.

There may have been some questions surrounding the 21-year-old's form before his strike against Southampton in the Carabao Cup in midweek but he will take confidence from the goal. This is where Warne must set up his defensive unit to be strong, compact and not allow Cannon to dictate play with his physicality.

However, Cashin and Nelson have dealt with countless strikers already this season with differing styles of play, and they will relish the challenge that Saturday brings.

Derby must find that first away victory sooner rather than later

Although there will be a lot of focus surrounding the defensive line for the Rams this weekend, it is important that they start scoring consistently on the road, as they will start to be left behind by others if they do not.

Stoke are not the best at home, and they have conceded nine times in six matches, offering Derby the chance to inflict more damage as they make the short hop along the A50.

Cashin and Nelson will both fancy themselves at set-pieces, an area of the team's game that they excel in, and more goals from corners and free kicks will be more than welcomed by Warne and the travelling supporters.

Getting that first win away from home will give the Rams renewed confidence that they can do some great things this season, but the centre-backs must focus on containing Cannon first, and stop any potential repeats of his Pompey exploits.