Video: Striker Nicklas Bendtner on what he has heard about Derby County from the fans
The first part of the East Midlands derby kicks off at 12pm on Sunday with both teams looking to kick on their good runs of form.
Nottingham Forest take on Derby County at Pride Park in their 99th meeting with the Reds currently sitting in 13th in the Sky Bet Championship after 19 games, six points adrift of the play-off places.
However the hopes of extending their three match winning run may have taken a blow with Britt Assombalonga a doubt after picking up a slight hamstring knock in training.
Derby have won the last five league games in a row to propel the Rams to 9th in the table on 29 points, which helped manager Steve McLaren to win the November manager of the month award, but Nicklas Bendtner thinks that both teams’ winning runs will not be significant.
I’ll take a penalty 100 per cent
He said: “You go out to win every match, the fact that we are both confident I don’t think will have a big role.
“The most important part is to go out and try and win every match.
“The points are more important than me scoring – if I can help the team get three points by scoring then that’s what I want but strikers always want to score goals.
“I’ll always take a penalty 100 per cent but it’s up to the coach to decide who takes it.
“We have the team to be in the top six position and we want to show people that we can be there.”
Video: Manager Philippe Montanier on Derby’s run and working to end it
Midfielder Henri Lansbury won the player of the month award for Forest during the Reds’ November run, which including a first career hat-trick against Barnsley in their 5-2 away win.
The Reds’ boss Philippe Montanier wants the high confidence of Lansbury and the squad to continue.
Montanier said: “I think we can do even better to have more control of the ball, more quality and technique.
“For that though we need confidence and points – we now have points and I hope we can play better, especially in possession.
“Derbies are always the big games and it’s always special with a great atmosphere, always a tough match.
“You play for the fans and for the performance to win the game – we would like to make them happy, it’s our job and for that this game is very important.”
Video: Derby manager Steve McLaren on what he thinks of Forest
Derby County’s manager Steve McLaren has said that Forest are a threat but that the Rams will be focused on their game despite Forest’s rich run.
“They score a lot, have been defending well recently and are winning games.
“We have to take care of the opponent but we’ve got to focus on what we do and what we can do and make sure our players are right.
“Mentally, I think that’s crucial for a local derby game and discipline is one of the key things.
“The players should dominate the day and plenty of our players have experience in this derby and know what it means and they will be vital more than me.”
Nottingham Forest record v Derby County
Played: 98
Won: 39
Drawn: 23
Lost: 36
The last time the two teams met was in a 1-0 win for Derby at Pride Park on March 19 2016.
Marcus Olsson scored his first ever goal for Derby in the 79th minute of the match to secure all three points for the Rams.
In the return fixture earlier in last season on November 6 2015, Nelson Oliveira scored in the fifth minute of the match which was enough for Forest to win 1-0.
