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DERBY CLOSE TO FULL STRENGTH FOR VISIT
DERBY County will be close to full strength when they travel to Wearside tomorrow
Only defender Spencer Prior is missing from the team Jim Smith would probably have liked to pick to start at the Stadium of Light.
Prior and rookie striker Marvin Robinson, who would probably have been on the bench, are both suspended tomorrow after each picking up a red card for Derby Reserves.
Smith, whose side is only clear of the relegation places thanks to a superior goal difference over Bradford City, will be bolstered by the news from his treatment room.
Goalkeeper Mart Poom is expected to be given the all-clear following a groin injury, while Republic of Ireland international Rory Delap (gastro enteritis), Horacio Carbonari (groin), Stefan Schnoor (ankle) and Darryl Powell (knee) are also expected to be fit.
Striker Dion Burton has returned unscathed from a period away on international duty with Jamaica, but is only likely to be on the bench with fellow striker Dean Sturridge.
The Rams could opt to play with just one man up front, Belgium international Branko Strupar.
Former Manchester City wizard Georgi Kinkladze, on loan from Ajax, may be left on the bench in favour of ex-Nuneaton Town striker Malcolm Christie, who scored his first senior goal against Middlesbrough last month and may be asked to funnel back to midfield.
f=zapf dingbats H r Sunderland assistant boss Bobby Saxton expects tomorrows clash to be a very different proposition from the sides earlier meeting at Pride Park.
An in-form Sunderland thumped the Rams 5-0 at Pride Park in September as County endured a nightmare start to the season.
But Jim Smiths side have recovered well and have only lost once since Boxing Day.
Saxton said: "Derby is a club I know very well because I played there. They have not had the best of seasons but, knowing Jim as I do, they will scrap right to the death and the way results have been going for us just lately, we will have a job on.
"He is a great club manager and he has had success wherever he has been. We cant keep clean sheets at this moment in time, while Derby scored four at Middlesbrough a couple of weeks ago, so we are under no illusions that it could be a dogfight.
"We were on a roll when we played them at Pride Park and we had the breaks and the goals and everything went our way.
"But you cant say that it is going to be the same this time round. Its a totally different situation and we arent the bees-knees by any stretch of the imagination."
f=Franklin Gothic Bk bi s=6.4 l=6.8 Derby (squad): Poom, Laursen, Carbonari, Elliott, Delap, Burley, Powell, Johnson, Dorigo, Strupar, Christie, Kinkladze, Sturridge, Burton, Nimni, Oakes.
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Weather for Wakefield
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 12 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
