Wolves under-21s travel to Pride Park on Wednesday evening to take on Derby County in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
With three points from their two group stage fixtures at Notts County and Lincoln City, James Collins’ side currently sit third ahead of the final group game against the Rams.
Tuesday evening’s victory for Lincoln over Notts County secured their progression into the knockout stages, which therefore means there are several permutations in place for Wolves to advance.
For the Old Gold to secure a place in the knockout stages, the most straightforward way would be to defeat the Rams by at least two clear goals and, depending on the scoreline, go through on either goal difference, goals scored or head-to-head with both teams tied on six points.
Derby, managed by Paul Warne, have enjoyed a strong start to their League One campaign and occupy seventh place after 15 games.
The Rams lie just outside of the play-off places and have lost just two of their last 12 games in all competitions.
Manager Warne is a former winner of this competition, having led Rotherham United to the trophy in 2021/22 following an extra time victory over Sutton United at Wembley.
WHEN
Wednesday, 7pm
WHERE
Pride Park, Derby
TICKETS
Away ticket sales have now ended for this fixture and there will be no option to purchase on the day of the game.
STREAM
EFL Trophy fixtures will be streamed live by the home club on their iFollow account, whether you’re in the UK or overseas.
Click HERE for more information on how to watch the match.
NEXT THREE
Derby
- vs Barnsley (H) 11th November
- vs Crewe (H) 14th November FA Cup
- vs Reading (A) 18th November
Wolves
- vs Charlton Athletic (H) 12th November PL Cup
- vs Sparta Prague (H) 24th November International Cup
- vs Nice (H) 29th November International Cup
WHAT THE GAFFER SAID
“I was a Derby County season ticket holder when I was a young lad. I’ve never coached at Pride Park. I’ve coached at many stadiums but not Pride Park, so it will be a big night for me.
“It’s only a good night if you go there and put on a good performance. It will probably be one of our toughest games of the season.
“Derby play really strong players in this competition and they take it seriously. I think Paul Warne has won it with Rotherham in the past and he takes it seriously.
“They have a big squad so it won’t be a group of Derby County’s under-21s, it’ll be a group of Derby County’s first-team or first-team fringe players.
“We will have to be at our very best to get anything out of the game, but what a challenge that is for us and what an occasion it is for us.
“We’ll go there and give it our best shot. The big thing is we’ll learn something about our players which is what we’re trying to do every time we take them on the pitch.”
