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Derby County v Birmingham City


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Derby County will round off their pre-season preparations with the visit of Premier League Birmingham City on Saturday.

Kick-off at Pride Park is 3pm, with tickets costing £12 for adults and £6 for concessions.

Tickets are available in advance from the Ticket Office, with fans encouraged to buy in advance to avoid delays entering the stadium on the day.

The Rams have remained unbeaten in their pre-season campaign, but will face their toughest test yet against the Blues.

After their impressive display against Birmingham's Premier League rivals Stoke City in midweek, manager Nigel Clough will be calling for a similar display against Alex McLeish's men.

It is the final chance for most of his players to impress in a match situation ahead of the opening day fixture at Leeds, with the only other remaining fixture a reserve friendly at Belper Town next Tuesday.

Clough told dcfc.co.uk: "Birmingham had a great season last year, they have great quality will certainly give us another worthwhile workout.

"We've been happy with how our pre-season has panned out and each game has seen a gradual step-up in the opposition.

"Birmingham will certainly be another test for us."

Midfielder Robbie Savage and striker Rob Hulse were absent from the Stoke game with groin injuries, but both are expected to return to action against Birmingham.

Paul Green came off with a tight groin against Stoke but should be fit.

Jake Buxton is still catching up on match practice after recovering from groin surgery, while Shaun Barker, Miles Addison and Stephen Pearson are still sidelined.

Birmingham comfortably avoided any danger of being dragged into a relegation dogfight last season in their return to the Premier League with a successful campaign spent largely in the top half of the table.

Alex McLeish has compensated for the loss of on-loan star Joe Hart by signing Manchester United's Ben Foster, while has also spent big to sign giant Serbian forward Nikola Žigić from Spanish giants Valencia and Spaniard Enric Vallès from NAC Breda in Holland.

Outwards have gone the experienced campaigner Lee Carsley and Gary McSheffrey, who have both rejoined Coventry City.

Foreigners Christian Benitez, Franck Queudrue and Gregory Vignal have also all moved on to pastures new as McLeish revamps his squad for the new season.

You will be able catch the match highlights from the game, as well as post-match reaction on Ram Player.

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Birmingham: Ben Foster; Stuart Parnaby, David Murphy, Roger Johnson, Scott Dann; Seb Larsson, Craig Gardner, Barry Ferguson, Keith Fahey; Garry O'Connor, Nikola Zigic.

Subs (from): Maik Taylor, Stephen Carr, Lee Bowyer, Liam Ridgewell, Kevin Phillips, Cameron Jerome, Fraser Kerr, James McFadden, Michel, Enric Valles, Jordon Mutch.

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