Derby manager George Burley went for broke from the outset in his attempt to overturn Preston’s 2-0 advantage from the first leg of the Coca-Cola Championship semi-final play-off by handing shock starting roles to Grzegorz Rasiak and Inigo Idiakez.
Rasiak, the Rams’ 17-goal leading scorer, missed his side’s last three games after undergoing a hernia operation just a fortnight ago, but the real shock was the return of playmaker Idiakez.
The 11-goal Spaniard suffered a groin injury in training last week, causing him to miss Sunday’s first-lt Deepdale, and had been ruled out of playing action for up to six weeks by Burley.
However, with the onus firmly on Derby to attack, Idiakez and Rasiak were both risked while Adam Bolder also returned to the starting line-up.
Ian Taylor, Marco Reich and injured defender Michael Johnson made way for the trio while Preston boss Billy Davies named an unchanged side.