#derby-county

#derby-county

"When I joined Sunderland as an apprentice, he was still fighting to recover from the knee injury that would shortly end his career. "He then became my youth coach and all of us had specific jobs to do. I cleaned the first-team dressing room once the senior players had gone home. "One day, the rest of the lads set me up, saying the dressing room was empty, so I walked in, only to be confronted by Brian, some other coaches and a few players."

Relegated from the Premier League last season, Leicester are targeting an immediate return to the top flight, but their campaign has been inconsistent. Marti Cifuentes's men have recorded eight wins, seven draws, and eight defeats from 23 Championship matches, a mixed run that sees them stuck in mid-table. Their recent form offers little encouragement: a 2-1 home loss to Watford followed a heavy 4-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers on December 20.

However, despite enjoying what was an eye-catching flurry on either side of November's international break, Chris Davies' men have gone crashing back down to earth in a worrying fashion. Last seen putting in a nightmare display as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming away at Sheffield United, Birmingham have collected just one-point from any of their previous four consecutive Championship appearances.

Last seen earlier in the week extending on their EFL Cup campaign as they collected a 2-0 victory at home against League One outfit Reading, the former Bolton boss has eased some of the reported pressure on his shoulders. Landing an action-packed 3-2 win away at Norwich last weekend, the Red Dragons have won four of their previous five appearances across all competitions and they have found a clinical edge in the final third.