PREVIEW: West Bromwich Albion (H)

Derby County will return to home soil for their Sky Bet Championship clash with West Bromwich Albion on Friday night.

The Rams will be looking to build on back-to-back wins on the road, after a 1-0 win against Preston North End on Saturday was bolstered by a 2-1 victory in South London against Charlton Athletic on Tuesday night.

John Eustace’s side are looking to cap off a perfect week when the Baggies visit Pride Park under the floodlights.

Opponents West Brom will be aiming to turn around their fortunes under new Head Coach Eric Ramsay after a 5-0 reverse against Norwich City last time out in the league.

Friday’s game marks the 129th competitive first-team fixture between the two clubs, having first met in the inaugural Football League season of 1888/89. The Baggies did the double over Derby that year, and their 5-0 home win in December 1888 remains their biggest ever victory over the Rams.

In recent years, Derby have enjoyed success in matches against West Brom, having won the last six games played between the clubs, including the victory on penalties in this season’s Carabao Cup second round in August. The reverse Championship fixture in September saw Derby win 1-0 at The Hawthorns courtesy of Andi Weimann’s 84th-minute goal.

There have been some notable games between the sides over the years, including the 2007 Championship Play-Off Final, which Derby won, and the 12-goal encounter of 8th December 1934 when hat-tricks from Sammy Crooks and Reg Stockhill helped Derby end the Baggies’ four-game winning run in the old First Division with a 9-3 victory.

Ticket Information

Tickets for Friday’s match are still available and can be purchased online, over the phone, or in person from the Ticket Office at Pride Park.

Supporters are urged to secure their seats in advance to avoid the matchday price increase.

Find out full ticket details by clicking here.

Pre-Match Thoughts

Head Coach John Eustace spoke to RamsTV ahead of Friday’s contest against West Brom.

Midfielder Bobby Clark, who netted in Derby’s win over Charlton on Tuesday night, caught up with RamsTV ahead of Friday night’s football under the lights.

Bring A Pound To The Ground

The Opposition

West Brom became the first Championship club of 2026 to opt for a change of direction in their dugout as they parted ways with Head Coach Ryan Mason seven months after he had arrived from Tottenham Hotspur’s coaching ranks.

The former Spurs and England midfielder was relieved of his duties on 6th January after 27 games in charge and a 33% win ratio, with West Brom sitting 18th in the Championship table.

Five days later, the Baggies unveiled his permanent replacement with the appointment of another 34-year-old coaching prospect, Eric Ramsay, who has enjoyed a successful time with Minnesota United after being made the youngest permanent head coach in MLS history in February 2024.

Born in Shrewsbury, and a futsal international player for Wales, Ramsay guided Minnesota to the club’s best-ever regular season in 2025; the club broke its previous records for total points, wins, goals scored, goals conceded, clean sheets and longest unbeaten run (20 games) as they finished fourth place in the Western Conference.

Ramsay is the latest boss to be challenged to return West Brom to the Premier League, being the eighth permanent head coach appointment at the Hawthorns since the club ended eight consecutive seasons in the top-flight with relegation in the 2017/18 season.

The Baggies did return to the Premier League for one campaign in 2020/21 and, in the last four completed seasons in the Championship, they have always finished in the top ten, but only once have they made the play-offs.

That was in 2023/24 when they lost to Southampton in the semi-finals. Last season, they looked on course for another crack at the end-of-season promotion shoot-out, but five defeats in their last eight games cost them their top-six place, eventually finishing ninth despite sacking boss Tony Mowbray with two games left of the campaign.

Ramsay started his reign with two home defeats, the latest being a 5-0 loss to Norwich City on Tuesday evening, which takes the team’s current run to six defeats in the last seven league games.

But the Baggies will look to bounce back tonight, and Ramsay’s first away game in charge offers the chance to pick up a first point on the road since 1st October.

Albion have lost their last ten Championship games away from the Hawthorns, but they did taste victory at Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup two weeks ago when they went through on penalties under interim manager James Morrison.

Match Officials

Anthony Backhouse will officiate the Derby’s clash with the Baggies. He has held the whistle in 14 Championship games so far this season, handing out 61 yellow cards and no red cards.

Backhouse last refereed the Rams in their first home game of the season back in August 2025.

Darren Williams and Conor Brown will run the line after being named as the Assistant Referees, while Martin Stephen has been appointed as the Fourth Official.

RamsTV Audio & Video Coverage

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.

Highlights & Match Replay:

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.