Thu 26 Jun - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 5mins
Derby County’s fixture schedule for the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season was unveiled on Thursday morning.
A clash with Stoke City in the Potteries will be the Rams’ season opener on Saturday 9th August, while John Eustace’s side will close out the season on home turf against Sheffield United on Saturday 2nd May.
There will be plenty of action in between those two matches as the Rams look forward to embarking on their second consecutive Championship season after they earned second-tier safety under Eustace’s guise in 2024/25.
Here, dcfc.co.uk will break down the main takeaways from the 2025/26 fixture list release and delve into the.
A short trip to the bet365 Stadium will kick off the new campaign. Stoke City will be the opponents - a team recently familiar to the Rams, as the two sides played out a goalless draw at Pride Park Stadium in April, which secured their Championship status.
August will see two away matches and two home matches in the league, with the trips on the road bookending the month.
The Rams will take to the Pride Park field in league action for the first time when they face Coventry City on Saturday 16th August, and then Bristol City on Saturday 23rd August.
Portman Road will be the venue of the first lengthy away trip on the schedule as Derby are lined up to meet Ipswich Town on Saturday 30th August.
Fixtures for Round One of the Carabao Cup will also take place in August on either Tuesday 12th or Wednesday 13th.
Derby’s trip to the Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday 13th September, will hold special significance for the home side as they will be celebrating the 125th Anniversary of their home ground, the Hawthorns.
Derby County was the first-ever opponent to play against the Baggies at the stadium as they played out a 1-1 draw on Monday 3rd September 1900 - Rams record goalscorer Steve Bloomer netted the first-ever goal at the ground on that day.
As such, a special request was made to the EFL by the Black Country club to face the Rams around the anniversary date. Plans are expected to be made and announced in due course by West Brom as they look to commemorate the special occasion.
Additionally, when Derby face Blackburn
Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday 8th November, it will mark the Lancashire club’s 150th Anniversary.
The League One promotion race last season saw Birmingham City reign as champions after Head Coach Chris Davies’ side accrued a record 111 points. Derby will first meet the Blues on Boxing Day at St Andrews @ Knighthead Park, with the reverse fixture in Derbyshire coming on Saturday 21st March 2026.
Welsh club Wrexham completed their third consecutive automatic promotion as they finished second on 92 points, completing a rise from the National League in 2022/23 to the Championship in 2025/26. The Rams will head to the STōK Racecourse Ground on Saturday 27th September and will welcome the Red Dragons to Pride Park on Sunday 4th January.
The Play-Off battle ended with Nathan Jones’ Charlton Athletic reigning supreme over Leyton Orient at Wembley Stadium last month. The Addicks will provide Derby’s fourth test on home soil when they head to face the Rams at Pride Park on Tuesday 30th September. The return fixture at The Valley will come in the new year, on Wednesday 21st January.
The Premier League relegation fight saw Southampton, Ipswich Town, and Leicester City re-enter the second tier after all being promoted out of the Championship the season prior.
Derby will face the Tractor Boys away from home on Saturday 30th August at Portman Road and Pride Park on Saturday 7th February.
Southampton will be the Rams’ fifth opponents at Pride Park in the league as they host the Saints on Saturday 4th October and will head to St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday 11th April.
Local East Midlands rivals Leicester will come to Pride Park on Saturday 6th December and will play against Derby at the King Power Stadium 23 days later on Monday 29th December in the final game of 2025.
Derby will remain local across Christmas and New Year, with a home game against Portsmouth on Saturday 20th December being followed by consecutive away matches in the Midlands, with newly promoted Birmingham City lined up on Boxing Day and Leicester City at the King Power Stadium three days later.
The New Year will kick off in Derby with a home clash against Middlesbrough at Pride Park Stadium on Thursday 1st January, followed by the visit of Wrexham on Sunday 4th January.
Derby have 14 midweek fixtures lined up, with the first of the season coming against Charlton on Tuesday 30th September, and the final midweek game coming on Tuesday 21st April against Norwich City at Carrow Road.
The festive period accounts for three of these weekday games, with a New Year's Day meeting against Middlesbrough landing on a Thursday to follow the Boxing Day meeting with Birmingham and a clash with Leicester on Monday 29th December.
In April, Good Friday will see a trip to the Coventry Building Society Arena to face Coventry City, while Easter Monday action will take place at Pride Park with the visit of Stoke City.
The end-of-season run-in proved vital last season as the Rams clinched Championship survival on the final day.
The final five games of 2025/26 begin with an away trip to Southampton on Saturday 11th April, before a home game against Oxford United on Saturday 18th April is followed by two away fixtures with Norwich City in midweek followed by the final away trip of the campaign against Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Saturday 25th April.
The 2025/26 season will conclude once again at Pride Park Stadium, as
it did last season. This time, Sheffield United will be the opponents on Saturday 2nd May.
