I have been thinking about this game. For Derby there is virtually no pressure. If they go out fast and score , City will find it very difficult to get back. A win for Derby would pretty much ensure they finish above City and obviously Sheffield Wednesday and Wycombe. They then would only have a very slight chance of finishing in bottom 3. As people have said maybe reason why they rested several players last week. I'm sure they will go out to win this game rather than avoiding defeat. Defeat isn't disastrous for Derby but a win for them is massive boast to staying up.
Opposite is true for City. A lot of pressure to win and it really is one of those relegation games we have to win. Defeat would be a massive blow. A draw clearly better than a defeat but a draw really isn't much help in our plight.
Obviously I would love to play for Coventry but never will etc. However if I was playing, I would be dreading this game today and next week too. Today needs Mark Robins to weave his magic and prove what a good manager he is and get right team selection, formation, adapting to events and motivation. Also the big players in team need to perform very well, in fact every player will have to play well. All obvious stuff I know but just a post of (negative) realism on what might happen today.
I do hope I'm wrong on sensing another defeat today.