The Rams are winning the early midfield battles and have started on the front foot.

Tyreece John-Jules gets past one with a lovely nutmeg and advances towards the Burton box, but Jasper Moon is having none of it and takes down his man with a firm challenge on the edge of the box.

All fair and legal according to ref Ben Toner.

Aaron Webster
Former Burton Albion defender

Good start from Derby.

Nice first few minutes of energetic, end-to-end footy.

Albion really sitting in, looking to be compact and then looking to spring the attack when they have the opportunity.

First opening for Derby.

Conor Hourihane flashes an effort narrowly over the bar after James Collins' cross from the left was half-cleared. Nice work down the left.

The sides may be neighbours but they have met just seven times - and been evenly matched in that time, Derby winning three and Burton two, with the other two ending in stalemate.

The Rams are seeking a first league double over the Brewers.

They won 3-0 in Staffordshire in the second game of the season.

We're under way at a chilly, chilly Pride Park.

Will the football warm the cockles?

Andrew Aloia
BBC Sport at Pride Park

It's an absolutely freezing night at Pride Park, but these are two sides that will undoubtedly be looking to produce red-hot performances.

And the reasons for wanting to turn it on couldn't be any more different.

A convincing win for Derby will move them into the top two - and those much-desired automatic promotion places.

For Burton, who are again in a fight for League One survival at the other end of the table, are in action for the first time under rookie manager Martin Paterson.

New Burton boss Martin Paterson has named his first starting XI.

He makes two changes from the side which drew with Wycombe in their last league outing, with Jake Caprice and Ciaran Gilligan in for Sam Hughes and Bobby Kamwa.

Manchester United striker Joe Hugill, who joined on loan this week, is on the bench.

Burton: Crocombe, Sweeney, Brayford (capt), Moon, Caprice, Seddon, Powell, Oshilaja, Lubala, Gilligan, Bennett.

Substitutes: Blackman, Tamen, Carayol, Harper, Helm, Hugill, Scott.

Image source, BBC Sport

Paul Warne makes two changes from the Derby side which secured their ninth league win in 11 at Fleetwood Town.

Defender Craig Forsyth is missing with a calf problem picked up in that 3-1 win and is replaced by Tom Barkhuizen, while in defence Callum Elder replaces Sonny Bradley who drops to the bench.

Derby: Vickers, Wilson, Elder, Nelson, Cashin, Bird, Mendez-Laing, Hourihane (capt) Barkhuizen, Collins, John-Jules.

Substitutes: Wildsmith, Bradley, Brown, Fornah, Sibley, Thompson, Ward.

Image source, BBC Sport

Burton have lost just one - at high-flying Bolton - and won two of their last five in the league since Dino Maamria's departure following a horrible run of five successive defeats.

However, those back-to-back wins are their only victories in their last 12 league outings, a run which leaves them precariously perched five points and two places above the relegation places in 19th.

Their defence has also impressed of late, conceding just two goals in their last four League One games, but a tight defence is vital when you’re low on goals at the other end.

With 21 league goals this season, only fellow third-tier sides Shrewsbury (17), Exeter (18) and Cheltenham (19) have scored fewer in the EFL.

The Brewers have failed to scored more than once in a single game in their last 12 league fixtures since a 4-1 win over Bristol Rovers on 21 October, and they're particularly goal-shy on their travels.

They’ve found the net just seven times in 13 league outings this term.

Image source, Jez Tighe/ProSports/Shutterstock

There will be plenty of attention on the away dugout this evening as Martin Paterson makes his debut in the manager's hotseat.

The 36-year-old has cut his teeth as assistant manager with Barnsley, Inter Miami and, most recently, Swansea.

Burton chairman Ben Robinson has high hopes, comparing his new man to Neil Warnock, Nigel Clough and Gary Rowett, who all took charge of the Brewers early in their managerial careers.

Paterson's arrival means Gary Mills can concentrate once more on first-team coaching duties after a none-too-shabby spell as caretaker.

He took a respectable eight points in six games after Dino Maamria’s departure on 9 December.

The new Brewers boss may be forgiven for wishing he was back in Florida tonight as temperatures in Derby are forecast to plunge to a seasonal -2C at kick-off, with a bracing -5C windchill. Snoods at the ready.

League One's newly crowned Manager of the Month Paul Warne will hope there's no jinx when his Derby side lock horns with near neighbours Burton.

The managerial gong can at times prove a millstone and spark a dodgy result, but the fourth-placed Rams will be heavy favourites after an upturn in fortunes since the clocks went back.

A fifth league defeat of the season at Stevenage on 28 October had dropped Derby to ninth, 14 points behind table-toppers Portsmouth, and left them a point closer to the relegation places than the automatic promotion spots.

But since then, Derby have won nine and lost just one of their last 11 in League One, and know that victory tonight would move them within a point of faltering Pompey at the summit, with a game in hand.

A two-goal winning margin would also allow the Rams to climb above fellow form horses Peterborough into second place on goal difference.

Derby's home form has been the proverbial mixed bag this season and the Rams have been happier on the road where they’ve picked up seven more points.

They've won just one of their last four at Pride Park in all competitions, including a defeat by Posh on New Year's Day, which ended their nine-match unbeaten league record at home.