Burton Albion v Derby County: Brewers boss Dino Maamria says his side no longer in Rams' 'shadow'
- Published
Dino Maamria took over as Burton boss from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Manager Dino Maamria says Burton Albion will relish their first ever League One game against a Derby County side that has overshadowed the Brewers for much of their existence.
Burton won both previous competitive fixtures against Derby at home.
Those two wins were in the Championship, but the near neighbours now find themselves together in England's third tier competition.
"In the past we were always in the shadow of Derby," Maamria said.
"But we have been on a level playing field in past four or five years, I'd say.
"It's a huge football game for us, an occasion we will relish.
"It's going to be a terrific game, it's going to be exciting and it's going to be electric - it's a derby game"
While just 12 miles of the the A38 separate the two sides, they have historically been a gulf apart in football terms - with Burton finishing fifth in the Conference in 2007-08, the season when Derby County last featured in the Premier League.
They only met for the first time in a competitive game in 2016 - a match Burton famously won.
Their last meeting produced Burton's most convincing win, a 3-1 triumph that gave them hope of Championship survival in 2018, although they were eventually relegated on the final day of the season.
Derby joined the Brewers in League One this season after a 2021-22 campaign fraught with financial turmoil ended in relegation.
But The Rams came down as one of the favourites to earn promotion straight back to the Championship.
After 19 games, they are seventh in the table - one point outside the play-off places - and 16 spots above a Burton side that are second from bottom.
Derby travel to Burton looking to extend their uneaten league run to seven matches, while Maamria's side are intent on making it nine games unbeaten in all competitions at the Pirelli Stadium.
Derby assistant coach Richie Barker expects the Brewers will see it as a game in which "they have nothing to lose", but says the historical standing of the two sides will have no bearing.
"It's not about the size of the clubs and not about what previous history is," he told BBC Radio Derby.
"Us just turning up being Derby County and Burton Albion being them, doesn't give us a god given right to win the game.
"We will have as much respect for them, if not more, than any other club we play."