Mon 11 Aug - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 5mins
Carabao Cup action is next up for Derby County as they head to the Hawthorns for a Round One tie against West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night (7:45pm kick-off).
After a 3-1 loss at Stoke City on the opening weekend of the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season, the Rams are looking to their knock-out tie against a fellow second tier side as the chance to get their first win of the season on the board.
Carlton Morris got off the mark at the bet365 Stadium on Saturday with his first goal since joining in the summer from Luton Town, while fellow summer additions Danny Batth, Andi Weimann, David Ozoh and Dion Sanderson also got their first minutes.
The trip to the Hawthorns provides a quick turnaround after the first game, and Head Coach John Eustace will doubtless see it as an opportunity to gain further match sharpness with a tough test on the road.
Tickets for Tuesday's knock-out tie are now OFF SALE.
The option to buy tickets on the day of the game will be available from the East Stand Ticket Office at the Hawthorns. The ticket prices remain the same, and payment is by cash or card.
Find out more by clicking here.
All Carabao Cup Preliminary Round to Round Five matches shall be of 90 minutes’ duration and in the event of the scores being level at the end of 90 minutes, no extra time shall be played and the winners shall be determined by penalty kicks in the traditional ABAB format.
Black Country-based West Bromwich Albion were founded in 1878. Since the Premier League era began in 1992, the Baggies have been promoted to the top-flight five times.
Most notably, they experienced a seven-season stretch in the Premier League from 2010 until 2017, achieving finishes above 11th place in four of those campaigns.
After relegation in 2017/18, the Baggies spent two seasons in the second tier before gaining promotion once more in 2019/20. But an immediate return to the Championship beckoned with a 19th place finish in the top division in 2020/21.
Since then, West Brom have remained in the Championship. In three of the last four seasons, they finished ninth or below, with the 2023/24 campaign seeing their closest effort to achieve promotion, but they were knocked out in the Play-Off Semi-Finals after finishing fifth in the league.
Last season Carlos Corberan, who led the Baggies to the Play-Off Semi-Finals, looked to be building something with the Baggies, but he left the club when Valencia came calling in December 2024 and his replacement Tony Mowbray, with momentum lacking, left his position with two matches remaining in the campaign in April.
Their end-of-season run included a 3-1 loss to Derby at the Hawthorns and Albion finished in ninth spot in the second tier.
West Brom have a fresh look coming into the new season, with managerial first-timer Ryan Mason taking on the Head Coach role in the West Midlands. The highly thought-of coach penned a three-year deal with the club in the summer.
At just 33 years old, Mason brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience. The midfielder played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur from 2014 and racked up 70 appearances for the Lilywhites before departing to Hull City in 2016.
The England international suffered a head injury in 2017, which ended his playing career cruelly at an early stage. But undeterred, Mason quickly turned his hand to coaching.
A stalwart of the Spurs Academy since 2018, Mason also became Interim Head Coach of the Premier League club on two separate occasions - overseeing 13 games in total - and became part of the first-team coaching staff alongside Antonio Conte and then Ange Postecoglou.
Mason got off to a winning start in the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship as West Brom were 1-0 winners at home to Blackburn Rovers on the opening day.
The Black Country club have made three additions in the transfer window this summer, with the partnership of Nat Phillips and MLS’ George Campbell bolstering the defence, while Norwegian forward Aune Heggebø from Brann looks to bring firepower to the Hawthorns.
The freshest connection between West Brom and Derby is defender Nat Phillips. The 28-year-old centre back joined the Baggies on a permanent deal from Liverpool in the summer after spending last season out on loan with the Rams.
Phillips was an instrumental part of the Derby side that staved off relegation, which included him scoring a vital match-winning headed goal in the penultimate game of the campaign in a 1-0 win away to Hull City.
The three points picked up that day proved to be crucial, as the Rams finished above the drop zone.
Overall, Phillips made 32 Championship outings for Derby last season, scoring one goal and providing three assists. He was a starter for West Brom in their first game of the season against Blackburn Rovers, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 home victory.
Head Coach John Eustace caught up with RamsTV to look ahead to the Carabao Cup tie at the Hawthorns.
Forward Andi Weimann spoke to RamsTV after making his second competitive debut for the club on Saturday and to preview Tuesday night's cup action.
Live audio commentary for all of Derby County’s first team matches in the 2025/26 season - both league and cup fixtures - is available to RamsTV Audio subscribers based both in the UK and internationally.
Tuesday night's match is NOT available for live domestic or international video streaming under the EFL’s streaming rights.
Match Highlights will be made available to view on dcfc.co.uk from 12am the day following the fixture.
