New Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson has overseen an impressive run in the FA Cup recently and suddenly there is optimism in the East Midlands despite an indifferent league campaign. 
Leicester will need another performance to match their efforts in winning at Norwich at the weekend if they are to beat Derby at Pride Park on Thursday evening. Leicester are narrow 6/5 (2.2) favourites with Paddy Power to get the win.
It’s been an up and down season for Derby under Nigel Clough. Just when things looked bleak, the club went on another run of four wins on the bounce.
Gloom has set in again with another sequence of five without a win in the Championship but the chance to put one over on their big-spending rivals could spark an upturn in fortunes. Derby are 11/5 (3.2) outsiders with Paddy Power and the draw is available at 23/10 (3.3).
The goalscorer markets offer a wide variety of potential candidates but the name of Paul Gallagher is always worth a look. Gallagher operates a shoot-on-sight policy and that means he can always keep the punter interested. He has nine goals this season and is an 8/1 (9.0) bet to net first with Paddy Power. 
Derby’s Steve Davies might be one that slips under the radar too. Davies has been out injured since the autumn but has made two comeback appearances off the bench and could be ready to start finding the form that saw him bag five goals before the end of September. Davies is 9/1 (10.0) first goalscorer with Paddy Power.
The other markets are difficult to predict because the two sides are an awkward match for the punter – Leicester have just one clean sheet in 12 league games, while Derby have failed to score in four of their last five.
Only two of Derby’s last seven games have featured three or more goals but only two of Leicester’s last seven have not. A good atmosphere at Pride Park might inspire the players and backing both teams to score looks an intriguing bet at 4/5 (1.8) with Paddy Power.
But the Bet of the Day is to back Derby to win in front of their own fans at an industry-best price of 11/5 (3.2). The Value Bet is for Steve Davies to make a hero’s comeback after breaking his skull, in what should be his first start since the horror injury occurred.
Bet of the Day – Derby to win at 11/5 (3.2) with Paddy Power
Value Bet – Steve Davies first goalscorer at 9/1 (10.0) with Paddy Power
Bet of the Day
| BET |
OF THE |
DAY |
| BEST BET |
VALUE BET |
| Derby to win at 11/5 (3.20) with Paddy Power |
Steve Davies first goal scorer at 9/1 (10.0) with Paddy Power |
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Adam Bate is a professional freelance journalist who specialises in football and betting. He is editor of GhostGoal which can be found here - you can also follow Adam on Twitter
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