Derby County will know that Pride Park needs to continue being a fortress this season if they want to safely secure their Championship status come the end of the gruelling 46-game campaign.
The Rams have picked up an impressive nine points so far from six matches, with three wins and three losses next to their name, as all the victories tallied up to date have come on their own patch.
Paul Warne will be hoping that his team don’t over-rely on their home form to get them out of trouble, however, but will be pleased with his side’s start all the same, with Kayden Jackson, in particular, standing out with his displays up top.
Jackson's form this season
Supporters that pack out Pride Park week in week out will already be heralding Jackson as a top buy, with the former Ipswich Town attacker costing the Rams nothing to get in through the door this summer, after his Tractor Boys contract had expired.
The experienced EFL forward, who has amassed 71 second tier appearances across his varied career to date, has netted three goals already this season in all competitions, which included this powerful strike against Bristol City finding the back of the net to send the Derby home masses into pandemonium.
He has fluffed his lines in Derby’s last two Championship encounters, with Jackson only managing a lacklustre 26 touches last time out versus Sheffield United in a 1-0 defeat, but plenty more will be expected of him as the season goes on and clashes become more meaningful.
Derby would love to have this former striker back on their books to aid Jackson up top, to alleviate some of the pressure on the former Ipswich man’s shoulders, with the ex-star in question now on the books at League One Wrexham who are taking the third tier by storm.
Marriott's form this season
That former hero is Jack Marriott, who is most widely known in Derby quarters to this day as the striker who bagged the Rams’ only strike in the 2019 Championship playoff final, when facing off against Dean Smith’s Aston Villa.
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Villa would, unfortunately, get the better of Derby 2-1 come the end of the entertaining final, as Frank Lampard’s side had to take their Premier League near miss on the chin, with an energetic Marriott then struggling to ever recapture his best form donning a Rams strip after this moment in the Wembley spotlight.
Club played for
Games
Goals
Assists
Sheffield Wednesday
13
0
0
Peterborough United
58
16
2
Fleetwood Town
48
13
2
Wrexham
25
5
0
Marriott has become a well-travelled presence up and down the EFL since his exit from Pride Park, which saw him leave for nothing in 2021 to move to Peterborough, but it’s his impressive form for Wrexham this campaign so far that has really caught the eye.
The 30-year-old has actually outscored Jackson at the Racecourse Ground, with four goals managed for the Red Dragons from eight games in all competitions, as the experienced attacker even picked up the League One Goal of the Month accolade for this sublime effort versus Wycombe Wanderers last month.
The much-talked-about Welsh outfit will just pray that Marriott can keep up this early electric form as back-to-back promotions begin to be eyed up, with the ex-Derby man even a previous golden boot winner at the level – having been hailed as “top class” by former boss Lampard.
If Marriott does continue to fire in goal after goal, Wrexham and Derby might well even face off against each other next season, if Warne’s men also manage to stave off relegation.
It will be an intriguing race to keep tabs on to see who scores the most goals for their respective outfit, with Derby banking on the fact that their shrewd buy can remain consistent in front of goal away from any talk surrounding Wrexham, to ensure they don’t drop immediately back down to League One.
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