Captain on the bench in Derby County predicted XI vs Bristol Rovers

Derby County will be looking to add to their 3-0 win last Saturday as they make the trip to Bristol Rovers this weekend.

The Rams sit in third place, just one point behind Bolton who overtook them into second on Tuesday night.

Despite this, Paul Warne's side have every reason to be confident as more players are getting match fit from injuries and a number have really stepped up lately.

Paul Warne will have a number of selection dilemmas this weekend as he has a lot of choice, but who will he go for?

Here is Derby's predicted lineup for this weekend's game against Bristol Rovers.

Formation: 3-4-3

Goalkeeper: Joe Wildsmith

Joe Wildsmith wasn't particularly busy on Saturday against Port Vale, but did manage to make a couple of good saves and collected the ball on crosses well. With no Josh Vickers yet, he will likely start again.

Centre back: Eiran Cashin

Eiran Cashin said this week that he feels like he owes the Derby fans a promotion after last season's failure to go up. He will be keen on making sure he can help with that on Saturday.

Centre back: Sonny Bradley

Sonny Bradley has been excellent during his recent run in the Derby team. His quality on defending crosses and long balls has been invaluable.

Centre back: Curtis Nelson

Curtis Nelson has been able to continue his streak of starting every game this season despite a minor head injury last week. He will be back in the starting XI again on Saturday.

Left wing back: Louie Sibley

Louie Sibley was excellent in the last game against Port Vale. Scoring from the left back position and constantly winning the ball back. He will no doubt be back against Bristol Rovers.

Right wing back: Joe Ward

Joe Ward put in a man of the match performance last week and was excellent throughout. His crossing was a joy to behold. He deserves a start again this week.

Centre midfield: Max Bird

Max Bird will soon be a big rival of Bristol Rovers as he will head to Bristol City as soon as the season finishes. He will want to make a good impression against his rivals this week.

Centre midfield: Ebou Adams

Ebou Adams can't be dropped at the moment its that simple. He has virtually displaced captain Conor Hourihane with how well he has played. A must start again this week in a game that should be gritty and suit him to a tee.

Left wing: Tom Barkhuizen

Tom Barkhuizen has been steady at best lately, however as it seems that Corey Blackett-Taylor is yet to fully establish himself, then the spot still belongs to Barkhuizen here.

Right wing: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing

Having just won the player of the month award for February, Mendez-Laing will want to carry on where he left off with a plethora of goals and assists.

Dwight Gayle scored his first Derby goal on Saturday with a beautiful header into the bottom corner which put the Rams 2-0 up. He will be looking to keep his momentum going against Bristol Rovers.