Derby County are hoping to avoid a cup banana skin on Tuesday night, when they welcome Crewe Alexandra to Pride Park. These teams played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the first game, with Crewe forcing a replay against a Derby side who were not at their best that day. Can they get something again, or will the League One side prove too strong for them?
Derby Form GuideI think if you look at Derby, they've shown glimpses of quality, but have been nowhere near consistent enough. The question isn't are they good enough, but instead more about how often we will see the best version of this team. We certainly did on Saturday, when they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at home to Barnsley, a side going well in League One, and played very well away from home.
I think the confidence they would have gained from that, plus the fact they are back at home here, will be enough to give them the lift they need to reach the second round. But Derby will have to defend better than we saw in the first game, they gave Crewe a little too much time on the ball I thought.
Crewe Alexandra Form GuideWhen you look at the first game, Crewe had everything in their favour. A home crowd, TV cameras in attendace, plenty of people watching, and they could still only manage a draw. Going away from home, this is much tougher, but let's be honest, they have absolutely nothing to lose coming here, everyone expects them to get beat.
One thing in their favour is the fact that they come here on the back of a really big win at the weekend. Crewe won 1-0, a narrow victory, but it came against Notts County, regarded as one of the better teams in League Two. Of course, this is another step up, but wins like that do help.
Match PredictionI think the big win over Barnsley at the weekend will be enough to lift Derby over the line in comfortable fashion here. I think they'll take the game to Crewe and score a few goals, running out nice winners. I will back Derby on the -1.5 Asian handicap line, which is for them to win by two goals or more.
