- Derby County U21’s three consecutive wins include back-to-back 1-0 home victories over Middlesbrough and Manchester City Academy.
- Sunderland U21 are a much more expansive and attacking team than their counterparts from the East Midlands.
- Sunderland U21 have won three, drawn one and lost one of their last five matches, including a 3-1 win at Arsenal Academy.
Pride Park clash may be a tale of the tape
Monday’s clash between 14th-placed Sunderland U21 and 26th-placed Derby County U21 could be a fascinating tactical battle with both academies looking to develop players that can step up to senior level.
Sunderland boss Graeme Murty has a reputation for working miracles with the underdogs and it shows in the style of football his Black Cats side plays. A high-pressing, high-tempo game with a lot of aggression at the wide areas and plenty of transitions up front that can catch teams out has been key to their results.
The visitors are much higher in the table than Derby, having taken 28 points from 19 matches to the Rams’ 17 points from 18. Sunderland are slight favourites at 49/50 to win here with the hosts at 39/20 to take the spoils at home.
Derby’s style has a different feel
Derby County U21’s approach is a much more patient build-up game with positional discipline and a controlled tempo. Jake Buxton’s side will try to dominate possession and then transition smoothly, just as the first team tries to play.
The Rams are on a three-match winning streak, however, which makes this matchup interesting as Sunderland are the team with more quality and momentum. Derby County U21 have won three, drawn two and lost four of their nine home matches in Premier League 2, conceding 11 goals at Pride Park.
Justin Oguntolu has five goals in Derby County U21’s last nine, making him their most dangerous player at present. Sunderland U21 are a wide player team that regularly mix in senior players to raise the level of performance and it has worked well of late.
BTTS good, but home advantage looks good
There are a lot of goals in Sunderland games as the intensity of their style of play often leads to lots of chances at both ends. The ‘Both teams to score - Yes’ market is 17/50 for this clash which is extremely short for what should be an interesting match.
Sunderland have won four, drawn two and lost three of their matches on the road in Premier League 2 this season, conceding 15 goals. That suggests there is a goal in it for the home side and Derby could well win here, so we’re taking them in the double chance market because of their current momentum.
Backing Sunderland to beat Derby 3-1 in the correct score market could also be profitable as the Wearsiders won the last Premier League 2 head-to-head between these two sides by the same margin, two years ago.
