Prediction & odds for the game: Chorley (8/5) v Derby (13/10) – ST is backing the home win

When: Saturday, 9th January @ 12.15pm K.O

Where: Victory Park

National League North side Chorley will hope to create some FA Cup magic when they host Championship strugglers Derby County on Saturday.

Chorley

Despite being on the outside looking in at the promotion race right now, Chorley are the name on everyone’s lips heading into the FA Cup third round this weekend. They’re riding a steady wave of momentum and in a competition like this that’s all you really need to get a good run going. Financially speaking this is going to be great for the club if they’re able to get the job done, but for the spirit of the fans in such uncertain times like this, it could mean everything.

Chorley’s form since booking their place in the third round has been the definition of inconsistent, starting with a 1-0 win over Guiseley towards the start of December. They proceeded to lose to the very same team in the FA Trophy one week later, and in the midst of that, they also drew 1-1 with Alfreton. They bounced back with wins over Fylde and Chester, but again, a rematch against Fylde turned out very differently in the form of a 4-0 defeat.

Derby

Derby County’s entire first team squad is expected to miss out on this game due to an outbreak of COVID-19 which led to their training ground closing at the start of the week, meaning that a parade of under-23 and under-18 players will be tasked with trying to get the Rams into the next round. It was bad enough that they’ve had such a poor start to the Championship season, and now, they won’t even have Wayne Rooney there to guide them through this potential banana skin.

Back to back draws against Brentford and Stoke weren’t too disheartening, with a 2-0 success over Swansea implying that Derby had turned a corner. However, with a 4-0 win over Birmingham being sandwiched between defeats against Preston and Sheffield Wednesday, the jury is still out.

Conclusion

Given some of the circumstances that we’ve already discussed, we actually feel strongly about Chorley’s chances in this game and their ability to progress into the fourth round. They’re the ones who will be desperate to keep the dream alive, whereas with the Rams, everything just feels a little bit too negative right now. We are going to believe in the magic of the cup and suggest that the sixth tier side will defeat the second tier Derby.

Our official scoreline prediction is going to be 1-0 Chorley, ensuring we stick to the under 2.5 goals bracket.

Verdict: Back the home win at odds of 8/5 and the under 2.5 goals scored at odds of 13/10 (All odds are taken from bet365).

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If you want to bet on Chorley vs Derby then head on over to the betting page. Alternatively, you can check out some of the other available fixtures at the soccer predictions page as we continue through the journey of this season’s FA Cup.