The Championship rarely does anything gently in September and this one carries extra weight. Derby County host West Brom on 9 September 2026 at Pride Park, a Midlands derby with both clubs pointed in very different directions. Derby sit 20th with four points from five games and a goal difference of minus five, the kind of start that generates uncomfortable conversations in the manager's office and John Eustace knows he needs something here. West Brom sit fifth with ten points and a plus two goal difference after five games and Derby are unbeaten in eight straight league meetings against these visitors, a run that will sit somewhere in the back of West Brom's heads regardless of how organised they look on paper.
There is not much to go on here tactically, since this will be the first time John Eustace and James Morrison have faced each other in a league setting. Morrison only took charge permanently on 30 April 2026 after replacing Eric Ramsay following a stint as interim manager, while Eustace has been in place since February 2025 when he came in for Paul Warne. What we do know is that Morrison favours disciplined pressing and a clear set piece threat, whereas Eustace tends toward a more pragmatic shape built on midfield creativity and counter attacking. With no historical data between them, this fixture offers no precedent either way.
Derby's last five reads L-W-L-D-L: a 0-3 defeat to West Ham on 5 September 2026, a 2-0 win over Portsmouth on 1 September, then 0-3 and 2-2 results against Swansea and Cardiff before losing 1-2 to Charlton, three defeats from five with one draw and one win. West Brom arrive on W-D-L-W-W across their last five, a sequence that includes a 1-0 win over Watford and suggests a side that has found some consistency even if it has not been entirely convincing.
Derby's injury list is what this preview keeps circling back to. Patrick Agyemang (Achilles rupture, long term), Derry Murkin (hamstring), Matt Clarke (calf), Carlton Morris (calf tear), Lewis Travis (leg, around three to four weeks) and Craig Forsyth (knee, several months) are all out, removing natural width, aerial presence and defensive depth in one go and leaving Eustace without his first choice striker, his left sided cover and two of his defensive starters. West Brom have no reported absences, which means Morrison can put out his preferred XI and rotate freely without disruption.
With so many players unavailable, Eustace's 4-2-3-1 becomes less of a tactical choice and more of a necessity. The shape makes sense on paper but the personnel gaps mean Derby will sit deeper than they would like, inviting pressure and trying to spring counters through Brereton Diaz dropping into pockets and Clark covering extra ground in midfield. It works when the timing is right but it is predictable enough that a side pressing in structured lines and defending set pieces tightly can neutralise it and Morrison's West Brom are exactly that. They press with discipline, their backline led by Chris Mepham stays compact, the full backs push forward without leaving central areas exposed and JJ Morgan has scored in recent weeks and will be the focal point of their attack. The pressing intensity combined with the set piece threat is going to test Derby's depleted defence throughout.
Brereton Diaz against Mepham will be the central individual battle, with Derby's best attacking option needing to find space in exactly the area West Brom defend most tightly. Clark versus Price in central areas could settle who controls second ball situations and whether Derby ever get enough possession to launch. Without Forsyth and Clarke, who both provided aerial cover that squad players are simply not replacing, Derby's wide areas look exposed in ways that matter.
For Derby to stay competitive here they need to sit compact early and find enough on the break to stop West Brom dropping into a low block and killing the game on the counter. If West Brom establish control and press Derby's midfield into mistakes, gaps behind the defensive line will appear that Derby's depleted squad is not equipped to cover and Derby's absences limit how long they can sustain any meaningful period of pressure.
Derby lead the overall head to head with roughly 59 wins to 38 across 129 meetings and the recent run is even more striking: an eight game unbeaten streak in league football against West Brom, including a 1-1 draw in January 2026 and a 0-1 victory in September 2025. Eight league games without a defeat against this opponent is the kind of record that does not disappear from a dressing room, whatever the table looks like.
West Brom's set piece threat is worth flagging with Forsyth and Clarke both absent. Aerial duels at corners and free kicks are going to be a problem for Derby's makeshift defence and Mepham's presence in those situations only makes it more likely that one dead ball delivery could decide things. Derby will try to use their own routines, with Brereton Diaz delivering and Clark attacking the box, though converting against a well organised backline is its own challenge. Derby's position makes this a must not lose: four points from five games, they cannot let this stretch to one win in seven, whereas West Brom have every reason to go and win it rather than manage the game.
This one points toward a goalless draw and the injury list is the main reason. With Agyemang, Morris, Clarke, Murkin, Travis and Forsyth all out, Derby simply do not have enough attacking depth or defensive cover to beat a side as organised as West Brom. Their pragmatic shape will limit West Brom's transition play but it is hard to see where Derby's goal is coming from against a compact Morrison backline with a full squad available. West Brom's pressing may create chances but Derby's eight game unbeaten run against this opponent suggests there is something stubborn about this fixture that resists easy West Brom wins, with set pieces the most likely route to a goal for either team. A point keeps Derby off the bottom and West Brom in the top six and given their respective situations, neither side is likely to gamble for a winner.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
