Derby County go into Tuesday night's home clash with Reading positive that a third win on the bounce will be forthcoming at the final whistle, having put Port Vale and Bristol Rovers to the sword prior to facing off against the Royals.

The 3-0 win away in Bristol at the weekend just gone saw the likes of Dwight Gayle come good in attack for the League One side, the veteran striker bundling in an effort to get in on the goalscoring act to take his Rams goal tally to two since joining on a free transfer.

Away from Gayle sticking out as a key performer, there were some notable underperformers for the automatic promotion candidates despite the emphatic final scoreline.

Ebou Adams, in central midfield, didn't have his liveliest or most impactful game versus the Gas – the Cardiff City loanee in danger of dropping out of Warne's XI for the clash on Tuesday consequently.

Ebou Adams' performance vs Bristol Rovers in numbers

Adams has become a fan's favourite at Pride Park since joining in January, praised for his no-nonsense approach in the middle of the park which saw him win 12 duels against Stevenage last month.

Yet, the ex-Forest Green man had a quiet day at the office against Bristol Rovers on Saturday from his 73 minutes on the pitch.

The Rams number 32 would only manage to notch up 29 touches from central midfield alongside experienced partner Conor Hourihane, registering fewer passes than Joe Wildsmith in the process too with only ten accurate passes tallied up compared to the Derby goalkeeper's 15.

Minutes played

73

Touches

29

Accurate passes

10/16 (63%)

Accurate long balls

2/5

Successful dribbles

0/1

Duels won

5/8

Only completing one accurate long ball in the game also, alongside falling way short of his usual standards coming up for duels with five won out of eight attempted, Adams might find himself out of Warne's lineup to give fresh blood a go from the start against Ruben Selles' men in his place.

The players who could replace Ebou Adams

The Gambia international could well drop out for Korey Smith to start instead, the ex-Norwich City man competently putting in a shift late on in Bristol when replacing Adams to ensure the three points were secure.

Smith would manage to accumulate five accurate passes – not far off Adams' total of ten from 56 minutes less – whilst also managing to throw himself about effectively with one aerial duel won.

Warne might shake things up differently by moving Louis Sibley into Adams' central spot away from playing the homegrown Rams product down the wing, who struggled against the Gas going forward after bagging two goals against Port Vale from this position.

The 22-year-old midfielder would fail to register a single accurate cross from six attempts at the Memorial Stadium playing on the left channel, with the Rams boss wondering whether or not he could get more out of his adaptable number 17 in Adams' vacant spot.

Warne will know it's crucial that his confident Derby side pick up a third consecutive win when facing off against Reading, knowing that the League One giants have an almighty showdown with fellow automatic promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers to contend with directly after.