Fri 05 Dec - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 5mins
Derby County are back at Pride
Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon when they take on Leicester City in their
latest Sky Bet Championship fixture to kick-off their hectic December schedule (12:30pm kick-off).
.jpg)
Derby will take on the Foxes in league action for the first time in league action since the 2013/14 Championship campaign and they'll be looking to get the final month of the calendar year off and under way on a positive note.
Both sides will be looking to bounce back from defeats last weekend, with the Rams going down 2-1 at Middlesbrough and Leicester losing 3-2 at home to Sheffield United.
Tickets for the Rams' latest home game are still available and can be purchased online, over the phone or in person from the Ticket Office.
Supporters are urged to buy tickets in advance to avoid the matchday price increase.
Find out more ticket details for Saturday's match at tickets.dcfc.co.uk.
The last ten years has provided both highs and lows in the history of Leicester City, and they are hoping the 2025/26 season will offer Another high as they chase promotion back to the Premier League.
Expected by many to bounce straight back into the Premier League after relegation last season, so far, The Foxes have found life trickier than when they were relegated in 2023 and immediately romped to the Championship title with 97 points.
This term, a narrow loss at Preston North End was the solitary reverse from the opening 10 league games, but five draws in the last six of that sequence stalled progress.
At that stage in mid-October, Marti Cifuentes’ team were locked into fourth position, four points off an automatic promotion spot. Three successive defeats then followed as City dropped to 14th in the table.
The former QPR supremo started the planned climb back to the leading pack with a hard-fought draw with high-flying Middlesbrough prior to back-to-back victories over Norwich City and Stoke City. However, a 3-0 defeat to rejuvenated Southampton followed and Leicester last weekend entertained Sheffield United and once again returned to the dressing room at the break with Cifuentes trying to plot a way back from a three-goal deficit.
They fought back to 3-2 but with the side now in 18th position they will be looking to kick-start their season. Injuries and team selection have seen regular changes to the Foxes line-up. After 18 games, only eight players had reached double figures in league starts.
With just a five-point gap to the play-off positions and 28 games to go there is ample time for Leicester to return to the Premier League at the first attempt, but they will know that to achieve that their revival needs to begin sooner rather than later.
There are plenty of players to have represented both Derby County and Leicester City down the years.
Notably, Derby’s last three promotion-winning sides have included individuals to have played for, or gone on to represent, the Foxes.
The 1995/96 side under Jim Smith included Dean Sturridge, Chris Powell, Russell Hoult, Gary Rowett and Ashley Ward.
The Rams’ 2006/07 promotion-winning squad under Billy Davies featured Steve Howard, Matt Oakley, Marc Edworthy and Ryan Smith.
Derby’s most recent promotion, in 2023/24 from League One, included one player to have turned out for both clubs in Martyn Waghorn.
Other names to have turned out for the two clubs include Jack Bowers, Bobby Davison, David Nish, Paul Kitson, Peter Shilton, Phil Gee, Robbie Savage, Jacob Laursen, Spencer Prior, David Nugent, Tom Lawrence and Curtis Davies.
Head Coach John Eustace spoke to RamsTV earlier this week to look ahead to the meeting with the Foxes.
Forward Patrick Agyemang also sat down with RamsTV to preview the weekend's action at Pride Park Stadium.
Get your Derby County matchday programme, 'The Ram' - including an exclusive interview with defender Curtis Nelson - at Pride Park Stadium.
The Ram is sold around the stadium ahead of the game for £4 or can be ordered for home delivery.
Find out more by clicking here.
Josh Smith will be the man in the middle for Saturday's match at Pride Park Stadium.
Smith has overseen 12 games in all competitions this season, showing 38 yellow cards and two reds.
His last Derby game was the 2-1 loss at Stoke City last November, while he also oversaw the 4-2 reverse at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the 2024/25 campaign.
Sam Lewis and Graham Kane have been appointed as the Assistant Referees, while Andrew Kitchen is the Fourth Official.
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 game can be found here.
RamsTV's Match highlights will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App from midnight.
Is it your first time visiting Pride Park Stadium to watch Derby County in action? Here's a handy guide to help you along the way with all you need to know!
If you're a Derby County supporter attending the fixture at
Pride Park Stadium, you can find a wide range of details in our Matchday
Hub by
clicking here.
If you are a fan of our opposition at Pride Park Stadium, full information on visiting Derby County can be found in our Away Supporters Hub by clicking here.
Pride Park Stadium
Middlesbrough
Hull City
Wrexham
Derby County
Norwich City
Birmingham City
Swansea City
Bristol City
