Fri 01 May - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 6mins
Derby County will play Sheffield United at Pride Park Stadium in their 46th clash of the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season on Saturday afternoon (12.30pm kick-off).
John Eustace’s side registered a dramatic late comeback win at MATRADE Loftus Road last time out, with Jaydon Banel’s late strike clinching three points.
The win meant the Rams enter the final game of the scheduled season still capable of finishing in the final play-off spot, if results elsewhere are favourable.
Meanwhile, opponents Sheffield United will be looking to end their campaign on a high following a 3-2 loss at home to Preston North End last Saturday.
Earlier this season, when the two sides met at Bramall Lane in November, it was the Rams who claimed the spoils thanks to a 3-1 victory secured through a Carlton Morris hat-trick. Callum O’Hare scored the final goal of the game for United.
Derby will be looking to do the double today, a feat achieved by the Blades last season with 1-0 victories at home and away.
Tickets for the battle with the Blades are SOLD OUT - with a packed Pride Park Stadium prepared to witness the last scheduled fixture of the 2025/26 season.
Head Coach John Eustace spoke to RamsTV to look forward to the home meeting with the Blades.
Defender Sondre Langås also caught up with RamsTV ahead of Saturday’s Pride Park bout.
Supporters will have the chance to visit the expanded Fans’ Park, with the Rams working alongside Bustler Market, local street food event specialists, for the last three home games of the Sky Bet Championship 2025/26 season.
For the final home fixture, there will be a DJ set pre-match and live music after the game.
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.
As last season’s beaten play-off finalists and among the pre-season favourites for promotion this time around, Sheffield United spent almost the first three months of the campaign at the bottom of the table, which will have come as a shock to the system to most Bramall Lane regulars.
Six straight league defeats at the start of the campaign, during which time the team scored only once, meant United have always been playing catch-up.
The positive news is that the points-per-game return in the second half of the season is 25 per cent up on that of the first half, so the trajectory going into next season is upwards.
Depending on results elsewhere, a win at Pride Park this afternoon could lift the club into a top-half of the table placing.
The difficult start to the season brought about a quick rethink around the manager’s position.
Long-serving Chris Wilder had left the club following the team’s defeat to a stoppage-time goal by Sunderland in the Play-off Final, and he was replaced by the former Southampton, Reading and Hull City coach Rubén Sellés in June.
However, after losing the first six games of his time in charge – five in the Championship plus a Carabao Cup First Round exit at the hands of Birmingham City – the 42-year-old Spaniard was released less than three months after his appointment, and United turned back to Wilder, who agreed to make a third return to the club as manager.
“This is a special and unique club for me,” he said at the time of his return. “It’s my football club… It’s my life, it’s my family’s life, and it’s my pals’ life. We want the club to succeed.”
In Wilder’s first spell in the Bramall Lane dugout between May 2016 and March 2021, the 58-year-old boss took his boyhood club from League One to the Premier League, where they finished ninth, the club’s highest league placing in three decades.
He returned in December 2023 with the Blades at the bottom of the Premier League and, while he couldn’t keep them up, he guided the team to a third-place finish last season before suffering Wembley heartbreak.
The turnaround in fortunes has come in no small part due to striker Patrick Bamford, who has been in superb form for the Blades.
Now 32, the former Rams loanee started the current campaign with Leeds United but was released in late August before the transfer window closed.
It was in November that the former Middlesbrough player joined the Blades as a free agent and immediately hit the ground running to be named the EFL Player of the Month for December with four goals in six games; he now has 13 for the season and is the club’s leading scorer.
The United squad boasts plenty of talent in all departments - midfielders Gustavo Hamer, Callum O’Hare, Sydie Peck and Ollie Arblaster alone showcase a strong Championship pedigree.
Therefore, Wilder’s side will be looking to end the season on a high and hope next term can provide a chance to return to their promotion-chasing status once again.
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.
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.
Everyone at Derby County would like to send thier best wishes to Eric Steele, who will be commentating on his final match for BBC Radio Derby when the Rams take to the pitch against Sheffield United.
A Derby County legend between the sticks, Eric first joined Radio Derby on commentary during his playing days in May 1986 for the Rams' promotion-clinching win over Rotherham United at the Baseball Ground.
He stood in to help with commentary in the 1990/91 season, before his first stint as Radio Derby summariser ended when goalkeeping coaching became a full-time job - eventually coaching the Rams in 2013.
After winning a number of trophies at Old Trafford with Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson, he returned to Radio Derby in February 2020 alongside commentator Ed Dawes, before COVID hit, and the pair brought Rams coverage in lockdown circumstances.
A trusted voice through the highs and lows in the club’s recent history, and there for every key moment of the rise back to the Championship - Eric will complete his commentary stint after 40 years behind the microphone.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK and internationally for the clash with Sheffield United. The commentary on RamsTV's audio streams is provided by BBC Radio Derby.
RamsTV Monthly Live Audio Passes are priced at £5 and can be purchased here.
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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