Derby County Betting Odds
After achieving promotion from League One, it won’t come as a surprise that the Derby County odds aren’t found particularly high up the promotion list. That said, they’re also not expected to be treading water among the relegation candidates.
Indeed, Derby County showed enough in League One to have most pundits and the Derby County betting odds expecting a mid-table finish in 2024/25. A lot of their success in this upcoming campaign will depend on whether or not Paul Warne can get his team playing as they did after the somewhat rocky start to last season.
Three wins and three losses were followed by a run of three draws, two losses, and three wins. As October concluded, though, Derby turned on the afterburners to go on a nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship – only one of which was a draw.
To finish the season, Derby put up eight wins, two draws, and just one loss.
While the Derby County odds never quite aligned to make them the Championship favourites, they came awful close. Portsmouth only ended up leading the table by five points, but finished with the same number of goals scored and four extra conceded than Derby. Both teams finished with 28 wins, but Pompey were able to draw more often.
A core feature of Derby’s promotion campaign was the team’s quality in set-piece play. Almost two-thirds (25 of 78) of their goals came via set-pieces, while the team only allowed eight set-piece goals against them. These strengths should serve the Rams well in the second tier.
Derby County Relegation Odds
Naturally, when you look at relegation candidates at the start of the season, you begin with the newly promoted clubs. However, the Derby County relegation odds instead inspire optimism for the upcoming season. The likes of Millwall, Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City, Blackburn Rovers, Cardiff City, Preston North End, Plymouth Argyle, and Oxford United are all considered to be more likely to see the drop than the Rams.
Last season, Nathaniel Méndez Laing was an outright menace on the wings and up top. Ending the season with nine goals and 16 assists, his creativity was invaluable, as was his set-piece prowess. Still, the Derby County betting odds would end up veering away from goals in open play, with them finishing 11th in League One for these goals.
It’s a great strength to have, especially in the Championship, but better teams will be able to control the play better than those in League One and, knowing this as a strength, would seek to limit set-piece opportunities. James Collins put up 19 goals in all competitions last season, so the hope is he find another gear next season despite now being 33 years of age.
Derby County Odds to Get Promoted
The Derby County promotion odds certainly peg the Rams as distant dark horses to go up in consecutive seasons. In 2022/23 in League One, they drew far too many games and just missed out on a shot in the playoffs as a result. In the Championship, securing more draws would help the Derby betting odds of staying up.
Overall, Derby County aren’t expected to be at either business end of the table by season’s end. They’ve got enough quality and boast a strong enough defensive structure to beat most of what would be considered the likely bottom-half teams. Making Pride Park a fortress will be key, but few expect Derby to struggle near the bottom or challenge for promotion in 2024/25.