Both players have benefited from the extra rest after last week`s game against Nottingham Forest was postponed.
Stead, who had a three-month loan spell at Derby during the 2006/07 season, has recovered from an ankle problem while the knee injury Ribeiro suffered against Sheffield United two weeks ago was not as bad as initially feared.
However, the news was not so good for fellow defender Louis Carey after scans revealed he has a torn calf muscle.
The City captain has been out since sustaining the injury in the defeat at Leeds on November 13 but he now faces an extended spell on the sidelines.
Source: PA
Source: PA