Sun 05 Apr - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 5mins
Derby County will be in action at Pride Park Stadium to complete their Easter games programme when they clash with Stoke City on Monday (3pm kick-off).
John Eustace’s Rams will return to home soil after narrowly losing out to league leaders Coventry City at the CBS Arena in the Good Friday late kick-off, as a Ben Brereton Díaz's brace was bettered by the likely league champions.
Meanwhile, the Potters put two past Sheffield Wednesday without reply earlier in the day at the bet365 Stadium on Friday, as Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Lamine Cissé were on the scoresheet.
A goalless draw between the Rams and the Potters occurred the last time the teams met at Pride Park. The match, which took place as the final match of the 2024/25 campaign, earned a vital point that secured Championship survival for both sides, who were threatened by the drop.
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 10am until kick-offon 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 Easter Monday matchday will be the first chance for supporters to visit the expanded Fans’ Park, with the Rams working alongside Bustler Market, local street food event specialists, for the last three games of the Sky Bet Championship 2025/26 season.
Please note: Match Tickets or Season Tickets are required to access the Fans’ Park. Entry will NOT be permitted to non-ticket holders.
Find out more about Bustler At Pride Park by clicking here.
We’ve all heard the old cliché about a game of two halves, but for Stoke City in 2025/26, it’s been a season of two halves. However, there is still time to buck a recent trend.
After seven consecutive seasons finishing in the Championship’s bottom half, the Potters started the current campaign like a house on fire and were up with the pacesetters throughout the Autumn.
In the seven completed campaigns since dropping into the division after a decade spent in the Premier League, the club have finished between 14th and 18th position every year. But that trend looked to be changing this term. Away wins at Hull City and Norwich City saw the New Year start on the right foot.
Only two wins in the 13 games played before the EFL entered its busy Easter programme dropped the Potters to 15th. Before they entertained already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday at home on Good Friday, Mark Robins’ side had 51 points from their 39 games, exactly 12 points off both the play-off and relegation zones.
The Potters were good value for their 3-1 win over the Rams on the season’s opening weekend back in August, and they stayed in the top six until the Advent calendars were showing plenty of open windows. By then, though, results were starting to change.
A run of seven defeats in ten league games in November and December caused the club to slip out of the promotion places and, while back-to-back away wins at Hull City and Norwich City saw the New Year start on the right foot, only two wins in the 13 games played before the EFL entered its busy Easter programme dropped the Potters to 15th.
Before they entertained already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday at home on Good Friday, Mark Robins’ side had 51 points from their 39 games, exactly 12 points off both the play-off and relegation zones.
In their last away game, at Preston before the International break, the Potters lost to a North End side that had won once in their previous 13 outings, with a performance that caused 56-year-old Robins, who took charge at bet365 Stadium 15 months ago, to claim his players had let their fans down: “We had 3,000 supporters here, we’ve really let them down,” he told the media after the game. “That’s miles away from where I expect the performance to be.”
The experienced Coventry City boss will be expecting a reaction from his squad over Easter and for the run-in, and they could be boosted by the return of several important players. Injuries have bitten deep this season, especially in the goalkeeper, full-back and striker departments, but there does appear to be some better news emerging from the treatment room.
With senior goalkeeper Viktor Johansson probably out for the season with a fractured shoulder, Gavin Bazunu – brought in on loan from Southampton in January to cover – had also been sidelined for six weeks but returned in the Potters’ Good Friday victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
And at the other end of the pitch, centre forward Sam Gallagher is now fit again, with Slovakia international Róbert Boženík, who joined the club last summer, also eyeing a return to action after revealing that he’s well ahead of schedule with his recovery from serious injury.
Get your Derby County matchday programme, 'The Ram' - including an exclusive interview with midfielder Oscar Fraulo - 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.
Elliot Bell will be the man in the middle on Easter Monday, officiating his 10th Championship fixture this season.
Bell has held the whistle in three Derby matches, including the reverse fixture and the 2025/26 season opener at the Bet365 Stadium against Stoke City in August 2025, as well as the Rams’ 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers in October 2025.
Across his 42 games in all competitions so far in 2025/26, he has given a total of 160 yellow cards, two second yellow dismissals and three straight red cards.
Nigel Lugg and Ian Cooper have been named as the Assistant Referees; Charles Breakspear has been appointed as 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 RamsTVAudio subscribers based both in the UK and internationally.
RamsTV's Match highlights will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after the game.
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.
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