John Eustace must have significant Mark Robins fear as Derby County prepare for survival battle

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Derby County head into Saturday’s huge clash against Stoke City on a run of two successive wins – with both of those victories coming on the road.

It was the first and only time that the Rams have won back-to-back matches away from home all season, but their wins over West Bromwich Albion and Hull City were huge for their chances of staying in the Championship, with John Eustace’s side now just a point above the drop.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
16	PortsmouthPortsmouth	45	14	11	20	57	70	-13	53
17	Oxford UnitedOxford United	45	13	13	19	46	62	-16	52
18	Stoke CityStoke City	45	12	14	19	45	62	-17	50
19	DerbyDerby	45	13	10	22	48	56	-8	49
20	PrestonPreston	45	10	19	16	46	57	-11	49
21	LutonLuton	45	13	10	22	42	64	-22	49
22	Hull CityHull City	45	12	12	21	43	53	-10	48

The fight for survival could not be closer, and with just one game to go, any one of five teams could still be relegated to League One with Derby welcoming Stoke City to Pride Park at 12:30 on Saturday.

Despite their form in the last couple of months, their head coach will have to do something that he has never done before if the Rams are to be in control of their own destiny, with OPTA already predicting the Championship survival battle.

John Eustace will be looking to get the better of Mark Robins for the first time

Despite being just 45, Eustace has a wealth of managerial experience already. After first leading Kidderminster Harriers, he moved on to Birmingham City before he took charge of Blackburn Rovers in the 2023/24 campaign.

He has excelled in every job that he has been in, and he is proving with Derby just how much coaching nous he has, with the Rams closing a seven-point gap to safety before moving out of the bottom three earlier in April.

However, while his side do not need all three points to stay up on Saturday, a victory would confirm their place in the second tier without having to wait for other results to come in.

But, despite Eustace’s incredible managerial record, he is yet to beat Stoke boss Mark Robins, having drawn two and lost two of their previous meetings.

His Blackburn team were beaten 3-0 by Coventry City at the start of October, just a month before the Potters’ manager was sacked by the Sky Blues following a 2-1 defeat to the Rams and the East Midlands outfit will be hoping that their head coach can break his duck against the 55-year-old this weekend.

Derby County must avenge earlier season defeat at Stoke City

Stoke ran out 2-1 winners at the bet365 Stadium against Derby in the reverse fixture, a result that was hugely frustrating for Saturday’s hosts as Ben Gibson headed home inside the final 10 minutes to secure all three points.

It was a result that left then Rams manager Paul Warne incredibly disappointed. He said following the clash in November (via: dcfc.co.uk): “We had to make changes and went to a back three. I thought we were a bit braver in the second half.

“I appreciate it’s going to make us open at times, but you have to accept that when you need a goal and are chasing the game. I thought the lads’ effort levels in the second half merited a point. For us to lose on a goal like the one we conceded was frustrating.”

The Rams have found success in a back three themselves since the start of March, with their forward play also instrumental to this run of form. Eustace has praised Jerry Yates in particular for his role in helping push the team onwards, and he will be hoping to add to the 10 goals that he already has in 2024/25.

An early goal will ease the nerves of what is sure to be a nervy Pride Park, and those in the stands will be keeping a keen eye on scores elsewhere as the battle for survival heads onto the back straight.