Derby County: Swansea City game changer could be in line for shock start v Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

The winger made a huge impact against the Swans on Wednesday evening after coming off the bench just after the hour mark.

Derby County will need to be at their very best on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Pride Park Stadium.

It's a huge clash for the Rams ahead of a very difficult December that will see them play Burnley, Leeds United twice and West Bromwich Albion, and victory is a must before facing three of the current top seven.

However, the Rams go into the game knowing that they cannot afford to start it in the same fashion as they started in their 2-1 defeat to Swansea City on Wednesday evening, with Paul Warne's side finding themselves 2-0 down after just 14 minutes.

While Derby recovered well and were perhaps unlucky to come out of the game without anything to show from it, a better performance is needed, and one of those who came off the bench to make an impact against the Swans could be in line to play from the off against Sheffield Wednesday.

Tom Barkhuizen may make a shock start against the Owls

It was an incredibly disappointing evening for Rams fans, and one that means their team have now won just one of their last eight matches in the Championship. They are also without a victory at Pride Park since the start of October when they eased past QPR in a 2-0 win.

However, Sunday gives them the chance to put things right and get back to winning ways after such a difficult few weeks. To help with that, Warne will make changes to the starting XI that he played against Swansea.

It seems obvious that Jerry Yates will come back in after being unavailable to feature against his parent club, but Tom Barkhuizen could also be in line to start.

The 31-year-old made a good impression in the defeat, coming on to the pitch with less than half an hour to go and winning a penalty nearly instantly.

It's been an incredibly frustrating season for Barkhuizen, who has battled injury problems and selection difficulties throughout the opening four months of the campaign, and with Corey Blackett-Taylor, Kayden Jackson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing all ahead of him in the pecking order, it seemed as though he was an outcast from the Derby squad.

However, he showed to his manager what he has been missing out on, and he was a constant threat throughout his time on the pitch. With this new momentum, the winger could play a big role against the Owls and prove some of his doubters wrong.

Warne will need goals from Barkhuizen

Although he played well in mid-week, what Warne truly needs from his wide players is goals. The Rams have had to settle for scoring from set pieces for 50% of their goals this season, including their one against Swansea.

Barkhuizen found the back of the net six times in League One in 2023/24, and he played a crucial part in Derby's promotion, and he does have a decent record in the Championship already.

The winger scored 33 goals in 199 appearances for Preston North End while also registering 20 assists in the second tier, with his best season coming in 2019/20. The then 26-year-old scored 9 times and picked up five assists as the Lilywhites finished 9th.

If he can show more flickers of promise in the coming weeks, then Warne will have new selection problems that he probably did not expect to have at the start of the campaign. Barkhuizen has less than a year left on his contract, and will be fighting for his Rams career, and getting on the right side of supporters and his manager will only help in that battle.