Tranmere Rovers face Derby County in FA Cup Third round tomorrow (From Wirral Globe)

Tranmere Rovers face Derby County in FA Cup Third round tomorrow

1:49pm Friday 4th January 2013 in News

TRANMERE Rovers face Championship side Derby County in the FA Cup Third round at Pride Park tomorrow afternoon.

Kicking off at 3pm, it will be the clubs' first meeting in any cup competition.

The winner will be ball number 15 in the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup with Budweiser.

The draw will take place on Sunday at approximately 3.30pm with ex-England goalkeepers David Seaman and Dave Beasant picking out the home and away teams live on ITV1.

The 14 league games played between Rovers and the Rams have seen Tranmere win seven and lose six. The last six games have produced 31 goals between them.

Rovers have never played at Pride Park before, but have won away matches against Derby, beating them at the Baseball Ground in both the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.

Ronnie Moore's squad head to Pride Park at the top of League One with 50 points. They reached the third round of the FA Cup with Budweiser by beating Braintree Town and Chesterfield.

Looking forward to Saturday's match, Moore said it would be a welcome break from the pressure of League One football.

He told Tranmere Player: "We'll go there and enjoy it and hopefully do ourselves proud.

"We're not expected to win but we might go there and get a draw or get a win. You just don't know in football what can happen.

"It's a fantastic stadium and the lads deserve a little break from the pressures of the league."

Derby come into the cup at the third round along with the rest of the Championship and Premier League sides. 

Nigel Clough's squad is currently tenth in their division with a home record of seven wins, four draws and just two defeats.

Ronnie Moore will alter his side for the first time since the Boxing Day match against Crewe Alexandra when Rovers take on Derby County at Pride Park on Saturday.

Striker Jake Cassidy has returned to Wolves following the end of his loan spell meaning Moore will have to change his strikeforce.

Striker Cole Stockton is the likely replacement after coming on as a substitute in the wins over Scunthorpe and Bury.

Defender Donervorn Daniels and striker Michael O'Halloran play the final game of their loan spells from Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion though the Manager has said he wants to extend the stays of both.

Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, Abdulai Bell-Baggie and James Wallace are all out of action through injury.

Rovers League One campaign resumes a week on Saturday, January 12, taking on Crawley Town at Prenton Park, 3pm.