Rickie Lambert can turn Cardiff City’s first away victory of the season into a sustained revival, according to former Championship manager Ian Holloway.
Lambert scored his first goals for almost a year to guide the Bluebirds to their 2-1 victory at Rotherham last weekend.
On Tuesday night, the 34-year-old former England striker can build on his efforts at home to struggling Derby County, with Holloway – now Sky Sports’ Championship pundit – backing him to do so.
“Rickie Lambert finally got a couple of goals as they beat Rotherham, and I think he’ll get another here as quality always rises back to the top,” said Holloway.
“There’s something wrong with that squad at Derby – their defence fell apart against Blackburn after taking the lead at the weekend, and I think they’ll struggle again at Cardiff.”
Cardiff hope to welcome back top scorer Anthony Pilkington for a match against opponents who have slipped into the relegation zone after a poor start under new manager Nigel Pearson.
Pilkington missed the Bluebirds’ first win in six matches on Saturday with a thigh injury suffered against Leeds a week earlier.
Aron Gunnarsson, who had a calf injury, also missed out at Rotherham, but Stuart O’Keefe is expected to retain his place in midfield after impressing on his return following six weeks out with a broken arm.
Former Aston Villa defender Joe Bennett is again expected to be absent with the calf problem which has prevented him from making his Cardiff debut.
Derby have Johnny Russell back in contention for a team that have taken just six points from their opening nine Championship matches.
The forward has missed the last four matches with a calf injury but he has resumed training and is set to return to the squad.
James Wilson also has a chance of coming back into the reckoning. The on-loan Manchester United striker has sat out two games with a knock but he too has trained and he will be assessed.
However, Jason Shackell (calf), Craig Forsyth (knee) and George Thorne (leg) all remain sidelined for the Rams as they look for a first win in seven Sky Bet Championship outings.
