PREVIEW: Birmingham City (H)

Derby County will return to home soil in the Sky Bet Championship for the visit of Birmingham City on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off).

John Eustace’s Rams will host the Blues at Pride Park Stadium, buoyed by a 1-0 victory on the road against Portsmouth on Monday night.

Birmingham, meanwhile, will head to DE24 following a 1-1 draw at home to ten-man Sheffield United last Saturday.

The points were shared in the last meetings between the Rams and the Blues - a 1-1 draw at St Andrew’s Stadium saw both teams reduced to 10 men as Jack Robinson cancelled out Patrick Agyemang’s first-half goal for Derby in the second period.

Ticket Information

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.

The Ticket Office is open from 9am until kick-off on matchday.

Supporters are urged to buy tickets in advance to avoid the matchday price increase.

Find out more ticket details for Saturday's match by clicking here.

The Opposition

There can be no doubt as to the ambitions of Birmingham City, as the announcement of plans to build a new 62,000 capacity stadium, followed by a busy winter transfer window, proves.

Sometimes you must take one step backward to go two steps forward, and Birmingham City are hoping that their relegation from the Championship in 2024 is just that.

The Blues were brought under the control of chairman Tom Wagner in July 2023 with immediate hopes that England’s second city club return to the Premier League after 12 seasons away from the top table.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. Birmingham left the Championship that season, but it was to League One.

The set-back did not derail them. Instead, Birmingham doubled down on making progress and that manifested in an immediate return to the second tier in spectacular, record-breaking style.

The 111 points earned last term in claiming the League One title with six games to spare is a Football League record total, as is the 34 wins achieved, and it meant the club retook their Championship place with renewed ambitions under manager Chris Davies.

The 40-year-old coach, who learned his craft under the wing of Brendan Rodgers for almost two decades, was handed his first job in management when he took over at St Andrew’s in June 2024 and, having recently overseen his 100th game in charge, he still boasts a near 60%-win ratio.

However, the first half of this season did return inconsistent results and, after losing 3-0 at Watford on New Year’s Day, they sat 17th in the Championship table as the winter transfer window opened.

The club elected to invest heavily in strengthening the squad, signing five first team players on permanent contracts – including converting former Ram Patrick Roberts’ loan from Sunderland into a longer-term deal – and recruiting two other players on temporary terms.

The freshening up appears to have worked well as, after the Watford defeat, the Blues went eight league games unbeaten, picking up 18 points along the way to rise to the coat tails of the play-off places.

Three successive defeats - to promotion contenders Millwall and Middlesbrough, plus Charlton Athletic – was a first under Davies’ management, but they have responded well in the two games played since that run of losses. A Roberts goal was enough to beat QPR at home eleven days ago, and they followed that up with a 1-1 draw last weekend against Sheffield United, who played for over an hour reduced to 10 men.

With more than 62% possession and 18 attempts on goal, Birmingham were unfortunate not to claim a win in that fixture too, though to earn one point it did need a penalty save from Blues goalkeeper James Beadle after defender Jack Robinson was penalised in bizarre circumstances for picking the ball up when believing it had gone dead.

Pre-Match Thoughts

Head Coach John Eustace spoke to RamsTV before his team returns to Pride Park Stadium to look back on Monday night’s win over Pompey and preview his side’s meeting with Birmingham.

Goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell also caught up with RamsTV after he committed his future to the club, signing a one-year contract extension in the build-up to Derby’s match against Birmingham.

Matchday Programme

Get your Derby County matchday programme, 'The Ram' - including an exclusive interview with defender Carlton Morris - at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday!

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.

Match Officials

Gavin Ward will be the man in the middle on Saturday, officiating his 21st Championship fixture this season.

Ward has held the whistle in four Derby matches this season, most recently the Rams’ trip to the King Power Stadium back in December.

Across his 26 games in all competitions so far in 2025/26, he has shown a total of 79 yellow cards, one second yellow dismissal and two straight red cards.

Graham Kane and Natalie Aspinall have been named as the Assistant Referees, while Adam Herczeg 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 game can be found here.

Highlights & Match Replay

RamsTV's Match highlights will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after the game.

Rams Matchday Experience

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!

Home Supporter Guide

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.

Visiting Supporter Guide

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.