Derby County: Paul Warne simply cannot miss Coventry City opportunity | OneFootball

The Rams and Sky Blues have had similar starts to the season, and Warne's side are in desperate need of an away win.

Derby County's wait for a first win on the road of the season was forced to continue on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 2-1 by Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.

A penalty from Tom Cannon and a late winner from Ben Gibson saw the Potters take all three points against the Rams, with the defender also scoring a comical own goal to give Paul Warne's side an equaliser in the second-half.

However, despite claims that Nat Phillips was fouled at the front post by Junior Tchamadeu, Stoke's second goal stood, meaning that Derby have lost five of their first seven away games in 2024/25, drawing the other two.

It was a bitter pill for Warne and his team to swallow, but performance levels in Staffordshire were not good enough for those in yellow-and-blue, and now the Rams have the tough task of making the trip to Coventry City on Wednesday evening, but there is reason to be slightly positive ahead of the visit.

Coventry City's home form is very inconsistent

Although the last week has been a good one for the Sky Blues, they have been extremely inconsistent in the league this season, especially at home, and that could give Derby the opportunity to impress.

The West Midlands club had been in the relegation zone before coming back from a two-goal deficit to beat Luton Town 3-2 last Saturday, before running out 3-0 winners away at Middlesbrough over the weekend.

But, this year has been a struggle for Mark Robins, who had been facing pressure for the first time in a while, after falling way below expectations in the first 11 matches. 2024/25 has been awkward for Coventry, and Derby must use that to put pressure on the hosts to make mistakes and give them a chance at victory.

Warne's side will not go into the clash as favourites, but they cannot allow this underdog mentality to take over as it has done so many times already this season. Too often the Rams have travelled to an away game on the backfoot and been punished, but taking the game to the Sky Blues could surprise them and give them a chance at that first away win.

Derby have been getting closer to that elusive three points on the road, and it will come. However, the longer they go without it, the more difficult it will become to get, and therefore, they must see Coventry's frailty at the back to press on and go for victory.

Derby must attack with more vigour

A big criticism of Derby since their promotion is just how much they seem to lack that final ball when they do work it into good positions. Too often the cross, pass or even shot lacks conviction and either trickles out for a goal kick, is cleared or it just has to be recycled.

A lot of this comes down to the wingers, especially Kayden Jackson and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who have not provided the numbers in terms of goal contributions that they should have so far, with each being involved in just four.

Corey Blackett-Taylor has been the Rams' most dangerous player in recent weeks, and rewarding him with a start could be a great way to unsettle the Coventry defence, with his ability to twist and turn on a sixpence, something that will cause issues.

Warne's team will have to be at their best on Wednesday to get a result, and while Coventry have started to pick up their form in recent weeks, they are susceptible to mistakes, and it is something that Derby must ensure happens to help get those vital first three points away from Pride Park.