West Ham welcome Derby to the London Stadium on 5 September 2026 for Matchweek 5 of the EFL Championship. West Ham sit 12th with five points from four games, which is fine but not the tempo a relegated Premier League side wants when they are determined to bounce straight back up. Derby are 16th on four points, with John Eustace in charge since February 2025 and a last five of L L D L W that says most of what needs saying.
Nuno Espírito Santo and John Eustace have never met in a competitive fixture. Nuno arrived at West Ham on 27 September 2025, replacing Graham Potter, while Eustace took over on 13 February 2025 after Paul Warne left.
West Ham's last five reads D L W D W, including a 4-2 Championship win over Wolves on 1 September and a 4-1 EFL Cup win over Southampton, alongside a 1-2 defeat at Charlton that Nuno will want to put right. Derby's only win in that run came in cup competition.
Neither side has any reported absences. West Ham's attack runs through Jarrod Bowen, who drifts inside from the right flank, with Divine Mukasa pushing forward from midfield and goalkeeper M. Hermansen keeping the defence organised behind them. Derby lean on Sammie Szmodics and Bobby Clark in midfield, with summer loans Eiran Cashin, Henrik Meister and Mohammed Fuseini rounding out the squad. West Ham's relegation at the end of 2025/26 did not cost Nuno his job and the 4-2 win over Wolves suggests the squad has adapted to Championship football without needing a reset.
West Ham operate in a possession based 4-2-3-1 where the full backs push high and the double pivot covers the space behind, averaging around 1.87 xG per game at home. Bowen drifts inside from the right with Mukasa arriving from midfield to complement the central striker and Hermansen's distribution from goal may tempt Derby into pressing higher than they would like, opening space in behind. Derby defend in a compact 4-2-3-1, with Szmodics dropping deep to receive before turning and Clark needing to cover significant ground to disrupt West Ham's build up while staying alert to Mukasa's late arrivals. Bowen against Derby's right sided centre back could be decisive if West Ham move the ball quickly to the flanks.
West Ham lead 28-24 across 77 meetings, with four of the last five going their way and the most recent a 2-0 FA Cup win at Pride Park in January 2023.
Bowen and Mukasa both deliver at set pieces, through near post movement and second phase attacks that have caused problems for visiting defences this season. Derby's backline will need to be sharp at corners and free kicks. West Ham want to build on the Wolves result and stay in touch with the automatic promotion places, while Derby need to show they can take something from a trip to a better resourced side.
West Ham 3-0 Derby. Derby have failed to score in three of their last four league games and West Ham's home xG of 1.87 suggests they will create more than enough chances to make this comfortable. The head to head record, the form and the xG all point the same way.
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?.
