The first and second favourites to be relegated from the Sky Bet Championship this season meet at London Road as Peterborough host Derby. Jake Pearson has previewed the fixture, picking out his best bet and score prediction.
Peterborough won promotion to England’s second tier with a second-place finish last term, their propensity for attacking football playing a big part in their success.
The Posh scored more goals than any other side in Sky Bet League One last campaign, averaging an astounding 1.8 goals per match, but their frailties at the back have already been exposed this season.
Luton brought Darren Ferguson’s men crashing down to earth with a comprehensive 3-0 hammering last weekend before a frankly embarrassing 4-0 loss to Plymouth in the first round of the Carabao Cup in midweek.
So far, Peterborough have done little to convince that they have what it takes to make the step up to Championship level, and though Derby certainly have problems of their own, the Posh look to have been overestimated by the layers on this occasion.
Kick-off time: 12:30 BST, Saturday
TV channel: Sky Sports Football
There are no two ways about it, this season is going to be a tough one for Derby County.
With the squad already thin and a transfer embargo imposed on the club, Wayne Rooney certainly has his work cut out to steer the Rams clear of relegation.
An opening weekend draw with Huddersfield wasn’t the worst result though, and in fact Derby created chances against the Terriers, racking up 1.41 expected goals (xG); not a huge total but enough to suggest there are goals in this team.
And indeed they proved that to be the case when coming from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 with Salford City in the Carabao Cup in midweek, ultimately going through on penalties.
In terms of the respective starts these two sides have made, Rooney must be the happier of the two managers, and though it is important not to overreact to Peterborough’s opening results, the manner in which the defeats came are certainly a cause for concern.
Already the much-loathed cliché of “relegation six-pointer” feels apt in this fixture, which makes it surprising that Peterborough are so heavily fancied.
There doesn’t appear to be too much to choose between the sides, and in fact, it is arguably Derby who are the more experienced and possibly the stronger of the two.
Home advantage must be taken into account, but even still, the difference in price between the two should not be as stark as it is.
This game could easily meander towards a draw, but with the Rams priced up as the 13/5 outsider of the three possible outcomes, backing DERBY TO WIN is the recommended bet in this fixture.
Peterborough v Derby best bets and score prediction
- Derby to win at 13/5 (Unibet)
Score prediction: Peterborough 1-3 Derby (Sky Bet odds: 28/1)
Odds correct at 11410 BST (13/08/21)
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