THE international break may be over but Championship hostilities are renewed with an England v Wales clash for Friday night football.
Derby and Cardiff started the season with dreams of promotion after the Rams missed out in the play-off final and the Bluebirds tumbled out of the top flight.
But neither side have made an impressive start to the campaign with Derby just two points clear of the relegation places in 19th and Neil Warnock's men sitting two points ahead of them in 13th.
Losing Frank Lampard to Chelsea was a blow for the Pride Park club yet they looked to have recruited his replacement wisely by landing former PSV boss Phillip Cocu.
With Wayne Rooney also lined up for a move to Derby as player-coach in January there was plenty of optimism as the new season kicked off and that only increased when Cocu took five points from his first three league games in an unbeaten start.
However, a 2-1 home loss to Bristol City knocked the Rams out of their stride and they went into the international break on a downer after losing 3-0 at Nottingham Forest and Brentford in the EFL Cup and league respectively.
Cocu has been able to work with his players on the training ground during the hiatus but will know it won't be easy when Warnock's side come calling.
Cardiff also struggled before the break, drawing with Blackburn and Fulham in between a 3-0 EFL Cup loss at home to Luton, and appear to be suffering from a lack of confidence after relegation.
But they have gone three games unbeaten in the league and I wouldn't be surprised if they took something at Pride Park in what will be a contrast of footballing cultures.
Warnock's direct brand of football might upset Cocu, who likes a possession-based game, and Cardiff are 15/8 with Bet365 for a win. If you want to play a little safer try the Bluebirds in the draw no bet market at 11/10 with Marathonbet.
Derby have yet to win at home this season, with two draws and a defeat from their three games, and badly miss the creative spark of Mason Mount and Harry Wilson.
Mount followed Lampard back to Chelsea after his stellar loan spell last term while Wilson returned to Liverpool, who then farmed him out to Bournemouth.
They haven't been adequately replaced and the Rams have netted just twice in their last four games so don't expect fireworks in this one, with Cardiff also scoring just once in their last three matches. Under 2.5 goals is 21/20 with Marathonbet and I'll be sticking a few quid on that.
Ladbrokes are also offering 6/4 on under 1.5 goals in the first half, under 2.5 goals in the second and either team to win, which looks decent value.
In the anytime scorer market, Cardiff's Leandro Bacuna looks a bit overpriced at 10/1 with Betway given he has a fierce long-range strike and hits a mean free-kick.
Derby's best bet for a goal is striker Martyn Waghorn, who is on spot-kick duties, and the former Rangers man is 21/10 with Paddy Power to net at any time.
This England Championship match between Derby County and Cardiff City will be played on Sep 13, 2019 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Derby County vs Cardiff City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
Can’t really argue too much with your summary, although Waghorn has already missed 2 penalty’s this term. Derby do have an attacking threat and much of it depends on if Marriott gets match sharp. He’s only started 1 league game this term, usually consigned to being a late cameo but when he’s sharp, he’s usually on fire.
Derby have not replaced Mount, Wilson or Tomori, we made a few signings and Matt Clarke in central defence looked like a great addition to the squad, but the rest of the signings have been garbage.
Why Tom Huddlestone gets the holding midfielder role is beyond belief, a brick wall would beat him in a sprint. We give the ball away too much, we cannot defend set pieces and I fear that Cocu has less than a half dozen games to turn it around.
We’re coming up to our customary purple patch ( October November ) but the way we’re playing and the fact that we just cannot compete on anybody’s terms suggest that Derby are going to have a long season. We’re in the middle of some tough games and I see lots of misery ahead for the rams.
Cocu berated the Derby team after Brentford handed us one, but that was also straight after playing a vastly weakened team and getting hammered away to Forest in the league cup. Forest made changes, but they showed up. We didn’t and I also think the Cocu had to idea of the importance of the local rivalry that exists between the two sides. Had that result been against any other side, the fans would of accepted it, but around 4000 fans travelling up the A52 may aswell of flushed their cash down the toilet. Abysmal. I see Cocu’s reasoning, but you’d of thought it would of played out in our favour against Brentford. Well we got hammered again by a 3 nil score-line, this negates his reasoning for team selection against Forest.
Cardiff have stuttered, their results are similar to Derby’s but they seem a bit more cohesive. I’m inclined to think Derby will have another game that doesn’t go our way.
Hate to say this but although I cannot possibly bet against Derby, I think Cardiff win and btts is where I’d put my money.
Will repost in the general thread.
Thanks for your post Nathan. Doesn’t sound like a happy camp at Pride Park but hopefully Cocu can get over those teething troubles and lead you to a decent season.