Sunderland under-23s head to the East Midlands looking to book their place in the knockout stages of the Premier League International Cup.
Here’s your all you need to know guide ahead of the fixture…
Fixture: Derby County U23 v Sunderland U23
Location: iPro Stadium
Date and kick-off: Thursday 12 January, KO 7pm
Competition: Premier League International Cup
How they line-up in group A: Derby County U23
Position: 3rd
Wins: 1
Defeats: 1
Goals scored: 2
Goals conceded: 3
Last time out in the International Cup: Derby County U23 0-2 Benfica U23 (dcfc.co.uk)
A goal in each half saw Derby County’s unde-23s fall to a 2-0 defeat to a strong and confident Benfica B side in their latest Premier League International Cup outing.
Joao Carvalho got the ball rolling for the Eagles at St George’s Park, converting a left wing cross with his head after 18 minutes after the visitors had controlled the opening stages of the meeting.
Heriberto Tavares added a crucial second with a lobbed finish that just crossed the goalline despite the best efforts of Chris Weale’s initial save and Calum Macdonald’s attempted acrobatic clearance.
It is a fair assessment to say that Darren Wassall’s came up against their toughest opponents of the season to date in Staffordshire, where win would have left them on the verge of qualifying for the knockout stages of the International Cup.
Spotlight – Derby County U23 coach: Darren Wassall
Born in Edgaston, Birmingham, in June 1968, Wassall began his footballing career across the Midlands at Nottingham Forest.
A centre-back by trade, Wassall made 45 appearances in all competitions for the Reds and enjoyed loan spells at Hereford United and Bury in the late 1980s.
Wassall then moved across the East Midlands divide and joined Derby County in 1992. While his maiden campaign for the Rams was injury hit, the defender went onto make over 80 appearances for Derby before helping them to promotion to the Premier League in the 1995/96 season.
Spells at Manchester City, Birmingham and Burton Albion followed before Wassall returned to Derby as Academy Manager in 2008. During his time at the helm, the West Midlands born coach has helped produce such players as Jeff Hendrick, Will Hughes and Jamie Hanson.
Key battle: George Brady v Charles Vernam
Derby’s leading scorer, Charles Vernam, has struck 10 times this season and will pose an obvious threat up top. The frontman has enjoyed a strong first-half to the campaign and is definitely reaping the rewards from his loan spell with ÍBV. Having made his first-team debut against West Bromwich Albion last Saturday, Vernam will be keen to keep in the manager’s thoughts when he comes up against the defensive duo Michael Ledger and George Brady at the iPro stadium on Thursday evening.
