Derby County will fear Morgan Whittaker trend continuing v Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

The former Rams youngster has already found the back of the net against his old side in the past, and will be hoping to do so again on Saturday.

Derby County will welcome back their former manager, Wayne Rooney, to Pride Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon when his Plymouth Argyle team make the long journey up to the East Midlands for a huge clash in the Championship.

It's a game that will have huge repercussions for both sides, with the gap between the two currently at just three points. However, it must be stated that, despite this small difference in points, the Rams are nine places above their opponents in the league table.

It's further proof of just how tight the second tier is this season, with Argyle, who take up the final relegation spot, only seven points off the play-offs ahead of this weekend's games.

Nevertheless, as we head towards the winter, those gaps will start to grow larger, and Plymouth will be hoping that not only can Rooney overcome his ex-club, but also Morgan Whittaker. The Pilgrims' striker came through Derby's academy before leaving Pride Park in 2021 for Swansea City.

Whittaker will be hoping to inflict damage on Derby again

While it has been nearly four years since he first moved on from the Rams, there is no love lost between the two, and it seems unlikely that the 23-year-old will get a warm reception in DE24 on Saturday.

However, he may try and use that to his advantage, with his record against Derby relatively good. In his three games that he has played against his former team, Whittaker has scored twice, winning two of those matches and drawing the other.

He scored an equaliser for Swansea in the 2020/21 campaign, netting his first goal for the club with a header to make it 1-1, after Tom Lawrence had opened the scoring for the Rams, before Connor Roberts secured all three points for the Welsh side just moments after his side had gone level.

He also scored against Derby for Plymouth, starting the comeback in the 2022/23 season at Pride Park when the visitors found themselves 2-0 down. Whittaker's strike inspired his team to turn the game around and win thanks to two late Sam Cosgrove goals.

Whittaker must start scoring consistently again

It's been a very difficult season in front of goal for Argyle away from home, with the Devonshire club still yet to score more than once on the road, with Whittaker the only player in green-and-white to have done so in 2024/25.

Away form is an issue that has plagued Plymouth for a number of years, but this campaign has been one of the toughest, and Rooney is yet to work out a way to get his team going when they are not at Home Park.

But responsibility does drop back to the players, including the 23-year-old who has found the back of the net just three times this season. His team turned down a bid from Italian giants Lazio in the January window, and although he finished 2023/24 strongly, it has been a lot harder for the forward to score since.

Whittaker will be hoping that a goal against his former club will buoy his Plymouth team on, and potentially start a good run of form away from home, otherwise this poor run on the road will start to become a much bigger issue.