Preston North End will be aware history is on Derby County’s side ahead of Deepdale meet | OneFootball

The Rams have a decent record against their opponents on Saturday, despite a 3-0 loss in their second to last meeting in Lancashire.

Derby County will be looking to continue their new-found away form on Saturday and make it two wins from two after picking up their first victory on the road against Coventry City before the international break.

The Rams have lost just one of their last four away matches, and after a solid start to the Championship season, they are more than within a chance of finishing in a mid-table position after winning promotion from League One in April.

Paul Warne's side are embracing the challenge that the second tier has been so far, and while they have not been as strong away from home as they may have hoped to have been, they are now coming into a small block of games against sides in and around them in the table before a very tricky December.

A trip to Deepdale to face Preston North End is the next challenge for Derby, as they look to hunt down the top 10 in the Championship, and while it will be a difficult match, the East Midlands club do have one thing over their opponents ahead of the weekend.

Derby have a good recent record at Deepdale

While any game in this league is difficult, the Rams will be buoyed by their recent record on the Lilywhites' patch, and it is definitely something that can give them confidence going into the fixture.

Although they have not won in their last two matches at Deepdale, since 2009, Derby have been nealry unbeaten at the ground, winning five of the nine meetings between the two sides, drawing three and losing just once.

It has been a happy hunting ground, with a large travelling contingent always following their team up the M6 to Lancashire.

Warne's side will be backed well once again on Saturday, with nearly 3,500 supporters set to cheer the Rams on against a team that could overtake them in the league with a win.

If Derby can take all three points with them back to DE24 this weekend, it will be a huge statement to the rest of the division to show that they are back on track away from home after impressing greatly last season in League One - winning 14 of their 23 matches on the road.

It's no secret that a lot of clubs circling around the bottom half of the table have had difficulties picking up away wins in 2024/25, and that will be the difference between a relegation battle and the safety of mid-table for those like the Rams.

Derby must take advantage of Preston's winning issues

Although victories on the road have not been the easiest of things to come by for Derby, Preston themselves are having issues picking up wins altogether at the moment.

Paul Heckingbottom's side are currently on a five-game spell without one, losing two and picking up three draws in the others. However, one of those points came when the Lilywhites were 3-0 up against Plymouth Argyle at Home Park before a second-half fightback saw Wayne Rooney's team equalise late on through Morgan Whittaker.

It's been an incredibly frustrating time for Heckingbottom since taking over the job at Deepdale from Ryan Lowe just days into the season, and while performances have not been overly poor, positive results have been difficult to find.

Derby must make sure they take advantage of this barren spell that Preston have embarked on, and ensure that a team below them in the table does not go level on points with them ahead of a very busy period.