Derby County will know that they realistically need to beat Fulham at the Pride Park Stadium on Tuesday night if they are to keep their chances of securing a Championship play-off spot alive.

The Rams stayed in contention to secure an unlikely top six finish as they beat Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at home on Friday night, with Matej Vydra scoring the goal that separated the two teams.

Fulham moved into the play-offs as they picked up a 1-0 victory away at Rotherham United, while the team that began the weekend in sixth – Sheffield Wednesday – were held to a 1-1 draw by Barnsley at Oakwell.

It means that Gary Rowett’s men are eight points adrift of the top six with just seven matches left to play, but they could close the gap on the Cottagers to just five points with a win against Slavisa Jokanovic’s in-form side in midweek, although they would also need to hope that the Owls slip up against already-relegated Rotherham too.

Here are three reasons Derby will secure that win to keep their play-off dream alive…

Unbeaten under Gary Rowett

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Ok, so it’s only been two games but Rowett will be relatively pleased with the start he has made since taking over the Rams.

While the first half in the local derby may not have been too impressive, Rowett’s men bounced back with an impressive second half display and they brought that into their clash against QPR on Friday night.

They should have scored against Ian Holloway’s side long before they finally did in the 70th minute, and they will be in buoyant mood as they face Fulham in front of a bumper crowd.

Record against promotion-chasing sides

While Derby’s form has fallen away in recent weeks – one win in nine saw Steve McClaren sacked last month – the Rams have enjoyed some impressive results at home against the teams fighting towards the top end of the Championship table.

County beat Leeds United 1-0, Sheffield Wednesday 2-0, Norwich City 1-0 and Reading 3-2 earlier in the campaign, and if they raise their game to similar levels when Fulham visit on Tuesday night, they should get the three points once again.

They have a striker in form

With Darren Bent suffering from injury in recent weeks and David Nugent struggling to make much of a goalscoring impact following a January transfer window move from Leicester City, the Rams needed someone to step up and find the net – enter Matej Vydra.

The Czech striker was a big-money arrival when Nigel Pearson brought him to the club last summer, but when Pearson was sacked the 24-year-old fell out of favour under Steve McClaren.

However, he has hit back in recent weeks and has scored three goals in his last four matches, and that form could be crucial to his side’s hopes of claiming an unlikely play-off spot.

Do you agree, Derby fans? Let us know below.