Derby V Blackburn Sky Bet Championship Match 4 -August 2013.Derby midfielder Paul Coutts (groin) and teenage striker Mason Bennett (rib) are set to return after recovering from their respective injuries.
Summer signings Lee Grant, Johnny Russell, John Eustace and Adam Smith will all hope to make their debuts.
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Defender Tommy Spurr and Hull loanee Tom Cairney could make their debuts after joining Blackburn on Thursday.
However, striker DJ Campbell is unavailable after damaging ankle ligaments in pre-season.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• There have been 106 league meetings since 1888; Derby have won 32, Blackburn 45 and 29 have been drawn.
• Rovers were languishing in the relegation zone on a 10-match winless run when they last faced the Rams in April at Ewood Park but they pulled off a 2-0 victory. Jordan Rhodes scored for the third successive time against Derby.
• This is the ninth time these clubs are meeting in the first match of a new league season. Of the previous eight, Derby have won three and Blackburn two.
Derby County
• This is Derby's sixth straight Championship campaign; they've spent only one of the last 11 seasons outside the second level, the ill-fated Premier League campaign in 2007/08.
• The Rams have not kept a clean sheet in an opening league fixture for 10 years.
• Nigel Clough is the longest serving manager in the Championship, and needs his side to score twice to take their all-time total of league goals to 7,000.
Blackburn Rovers
• Last year, Blackburn started their first season in 12 outside the Premier League with a six-match unbeaten run, but after a turbulent time on the managerial front, ended four points above the drop zone.
• Of this season's 24 Championship clubs, Rovers have the most Premier League experience (18 seasons).
• Gary Bowyer, who was one of five men to select the side last term, begins his first full season in charge of the Ewood Park club.