Cardiff City vs Derby County preview - O'Keefe ready for Cardiff bow

Posted Friday, January 30, 2015 by PA

Cardiff are set to hand Stuart O'Keefe a debut when they host high-flying Derby.

The midfielder arrived from Crystal Palace earlier this week for an undisclosed fee and is likely to feature for a side that have lost their last three games in all competitions.

Centre-back Ben Turner limped out of Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Reading and will be assessed by the club's medical staff with Matthew Connolly on hand to deputise if needed.

The likes of Tom Adeyemi, Joe Ralls and Federico Macheda could all come into Russell Slade's thinking as he looks to turn around his team's fortunes.

Derby head coach Steve McClaren will pick from an unchanged group of players.

Darren Bent has given McClaren a selection poser after his two goals in the victory against Blackburn in midweek.

Defender Cyrus Christie and midfielder Craig Bryson, fit again after a minor hip problem, will also hope to force their way back into the starting line-up in south Wales.

Johnny Russell (hamstring) is out for around five weeks and McClaren is scouring the loan market for replacement wide players ahead of Monday's transfer deadline.