Fri 17 Oct - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 6mins
Derby County will return to Sky Bet Championship action following the recent international break when they head to Oxford United on Saturday afternoon (12:30pm kick-off).
The Rams will head to the Kassam Stadium in the first of three Championship matches in eight days.
The away trip in Oxford will be followed by two home matches at Pride Park Stadium, with Norwich City the opponents on Tuesday before a clash with Queens Park Rangers next Saturday.
Head Coach John Eustace’s Derby side secured a 1-1 draw on home turf against Southampton in their last league outing - a result which saw the Rams pick up points in four of their last five matches.
With three draws and a win in those matches, Derby will be looking to build on that momentum with a win when they go head-to-head with Oxford in Saturday’s early kick-off.
Derby will be backed by a sold-out away end at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. The Rams were given an allocation of 1,476 tickets for the match, and these have now completely sold out.
Those fans without a ticket are advised not to make the trip to Oxford, as they will be unable to gain access to the stadium.
For further details, click here.
Train operator CrossCountry will run a limited service on Saturday 18th October due to planned industrial action.
Fewer services will operate, and there will be no service on some parts of the network. This will affect the Derby - Oxford route, and we advise fans to check the CrossCountry website before travelling.
Find out more here.
Oxford United have six points from their opening nine matches in the Championship this term, and find themselves in 22nd place with one win and three draws to their name.
Oxford, like Derby, are also in their second consecutive season in the second tier, having been promoted from Sky Bet League One via the play-offs in 2023/24.
The U’s finished 17th last season, after former Rams boss Gary Rowett entered the hot-seat in Oxfordshire just before Christmas, replacing Des Buckingham, who had led them to the Championship but found the club in 23rd after 22 matches.
Nine wins and eight draws from 25 matches saw Rowett steer Oxford to safety, a feat which they will be hoping to once again achieve this season.
The U’s made seven signings in the summer transfer window, with four of those being loan additions.
Their two permanent signatures came from defensive midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker, who joined from Eredivisie club Heracles Almelo, and Huddersfield Town right-back Brodie Spencer.
Meanwhile, centre-back Ben Davies (Rangers), attacking midfielders Luke Harris (Fulham) and Filip Krastev (Lommel SK), and strikers Will Lankshear (Tottenham Hotspur) and Nik Prelec (Cagliari) were signed up on season-long loan deals.
Lankshear has scored three goals in the opening nine Championship matches for Rowett’s side and made an instant impact in an Oxford shirt.
Current Oxford United Head Coach Gary Rowett signed for Derby as a player in July 1995 and spent three years with the club in defence, playing right-back and centre-back for Jim Smith’s side.
Rowett made 84 appearances in black and white, playing his part in promotion to the top flight in 1995/96 and then establishing themselves in the Premier League, before departing the club for Birmingham City in the summer of 1998.
Some 19 years later, after spells as a player with Leicester City, Charlton Athletic and Burton Albion, where he ended his playing career and took his first job in management, Rowett took the top job at Pride Park.
Time in charge of the Brewers and then Birmingham City saw the former defender make a name for himself in the managerial game, and he became Derby’s Head Coach in March 2017.
Derby were tenth in the Championship table, and Rowett saw them finish the season in ninth, before guiding the Rams to sixth place and a spot in the play-offs in 2017/18 - where a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Fulham at the semi-final stage ended the season.
Rowett moved on to Stoke City in May 2018 before taking over Millwall in October 2019, where he secured 8th, 11th and 9th placed finishes in his three seasons in charge.
He then had a short return to Birmingham City as Interim Manager at the close of the 2023/24 season before joining Oxford in December 2024.
Striker Carlton Morris, who has netted four goals in nine matches for Derby so far this season, made 10 appearances and scored his first-ever senior goal in a short two-month loan stint with Oxford from parent club Norwich City in August 2014.
The Rams’ 2023/24 League One promotion-winning defender Curtis Nelson made 121 appearances and scored eight goals for the Oxford between 2016 and 2019.
The U's were Nelson’s second club in senior football, after he left Plymouth Argyle, where he rose through the Academy ranks.
Stints with Cardiff City and Blackpool followed before Nelson signed for Derby in July 2023. He played every game in a record-breaking League One campaign and then made 27 outings in the Championship last season prior to suffering a knee injury in January of this year.
Oxford’s squad also features Louie Sibley, who rose through the
Derby Academy ranks and made 173 appearances and earned promotion from League
One before he departed for pastures new with a move to the Kassam Stadium in summer
2024.
Derby County will be proud to support Oxford United’s “Can We Talk?” Matchday.
The match between the U’s and the Rams will be dedicated to the campaign, which raises awareness around mental health and suicide prevention.
To mark the occasion, both Oxford United and Derby County players will warm up in special Can We Talk? t-shirts, highlighting the devastating reality that someone in the UK dies by suicide every 90 minutes.
After the match, a selection of these shirts will be signed and auctioned by the home side to raise funds for vital mental health services across Oxfordshire and beyond.
Find out more by clicking here.
RamsTV sat down with Head Coach John Eustace after training on Thursday to look ahead to Saturday’s action at the Kassam Stadium.
Right-back Max Johnston caught up with RamsTV to preview Saturday’s meeting with Oxford and reflect on his start to life at Derby, after moving to the club from Sturm Graz in the summer.
Gavin Ward will take charge of his sixth Championship game of the 2025/26 campaign on Saturday. Last season, he oversaw 25 Championship matches, handing out 91 yellow cards and four red cards.
Ward has held the whistle in a Rams game on 15 previous occasions, last officiating Derby's in last month 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic at Pride Park Stadium.
George Byrne and Carl Fitch-Jackson will be the assistant referees, while Richie Watkins will take on the fourth official role.
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.
Information about RamsTV's Video Live Streaming and other services for this season can be found here.
Full match reaction will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after full time, with highlights and a full match replay available from midnight.
The Kassam Stadium
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Wrexham
Derby County
Norwich City
Birmingham City
Swansea City
Bristol City
