Derby County

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Millwall will aim to get back on track as they welcome lowly Derby to The Den on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Lions have taken just six points from their past seven Championship games and went down 2-1 at Portsmouth last Saturday to slip into the bottom-half, five points adrift of the play-off spots.

The Rams are second-bottom and have taken just three points from their past eight games and were pegged back late-on to draw 1-1 at Sheffield United last time out.

• Millwall are unbeaten across their past seven league games against Derby County (W4 D3), scoring exactly one goal in six of those matches.

• Derby County have won just two of their past 13 league games against Millwall (D4 L7), though both victories have come away from home.

• Having won their opening two league games this season, Millwall have now won just two of their past 10 (D3 L5).

• Derby have just one league win this season and are winless in their past eight (D3 L5). However, five of their seven points so far this term have come away from home.

• Derby are the only side yet to score from a set piece in the Championship this season, while the Rams have also had fewer different goalscorers than anyone else (5, excluding own goals).

A new episode of BBC Radio Derby's Rams Weekly podcast is now available.

Match of the Day's Martin Fisher joins Malcolm Christie and Dominic Dietrich to discuss all the latest Derby County news.

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Amelia Warren
Fan writer

Four matches down after returning from an extended international break, Derby are yet to find that elusive second win of the campaign.

Wrexham at home, QPR away, Stoke at home, and Sheffield United away; two draws, two losses.

It's been the same old story in many of those games, attacking wise not so bad, creating chances but perhaps not being clinical enough at times, causing us to come away from matches feeling like "we should've got more".

In a defensive sense, however, things have been pretty bleak and to put it bluntly, it has cost us.

The Rams now sit 23rd in the table, four points off Watford in 21st, and more importantly, safety.

I suppose Derby's poor defending has been a reflection of the personnel they have available to them.

In the Wrexham game, Joe Ward, Sondre Langas, Dion Sanderson and Ryan Hedges all started in a back four.

In the QPR game, the same back four start, but Langas is withdrawn after 12 minutes due to injury with Ryan Nyambe replacing him, and with no disrespect to the Namibian, perhaps only showcasing the lack of reinforcements Derby have at their disposal.

Is it just a coincidence that the Rams go on to fall apart after that change?

For Stoke and Sheffield United, the same back four that finished the QPR game started, and to be fair to them, looked ever so slightly more stable.

However with Sanderson now picking up a red card at the weekend, John Eustace will have to chop and change at the back once again ahead of Derby's visit to The Den on Saturday.

The sheer lack of preferred defensive options Eustace has had available to him has no doubt played a part in the bleak run of results for the Rams in recent weeks.

Perhaps the lack of trust Eustace has in the four defensive players he is currently having to select, was only backed up by Derby bringing in the experienced Jack Robinson on a short-term deal shortly after the QPR game.

Image source, Shutterstock

The big question is will things improve for the Rams? Personally, I think so.

The reintroduction of Jacob Widell Zetterstrom against Sheffield United made a massive difference, with the Swedish shot-stopper being the main reason Derby came away with a share of the spoils in the end.

He is of course only one cog in the Rams' defensive structure.

Last campaign's player of the season, Matt Clarke, is still yet to make his way back from time out on the sidelines. Derry Murkin, who would be Derby's first choice left-back, is also yet to make his return from injury.

Eiran Cashin, Sondre Langas, Charlie Taylor and Craig Forsyth all remain out, with varied expected return dates.

Once Derby get towards Christmas, and most of these players are expected to be available for selection again, I think it's almost impossible to believe results won't improve.

The harsh reality of football is that despite being dealt a bad hand injury wise so far, and not being to play our best starting line-up even once yet this season, the games don't stop coming thick and fast.

Eustace is going to need to find a way to use the tools he has available to him to try and string some results together quickly, especially between now and January, to stop Derby being cut adrift at the bottom of the Championship table.

You can often catch Amelia Warren, external as a guest on BBC Radio Derby.

Derby County boss John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after the Rams' 1-1 draw against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Derby County will be hoping to start ascending up the table as they visit Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday (12:30 BST).

The Rams have only won one game this season to find themselves inside the bottom three.

Victory could leave Derby on the same points as 21st placed Norwich City (9) but the side also has a goal difference of seven to make up on the Canaries.

Hosts Sheffield United, meanwhile, are two points shy of the play-offs and looking to break into the top eight.

• Sheffield United have won five of their last seven league games against Derby County (L2), conceding just two goals in total across those five victories.

• After winning this exact fixture 3-1 last season, Derby County will be looking to win successive away league games against Sheffield United for the first time since October 1958.

• Sheffield United have won two of their last three league games (L1), as many as in their opening eight league games to begin 2026-27 (D3 L3).

• Derby have won just one of their last 12 league games (D3 L8), including none of their previous seven (D2 L5), while no side has failed to score in more different Championship games this season than the Rams (4).

• Derby lead the Championship this season for high turnovers (99), and are joint-second for shot-ending high turnovers (16), though they're yet to score from such a situation this term.

A new episode of BBC Radio Derby's Rams Weekly podcast is now available.

Malcolm Christie and Ed Dawes discuss the defeat by Stoke City and take a look ahead to Saturday's game away to Sheffield United (12:30 BST).

Listen above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Sheffield United legend Billy Sharp joins the pod following his retirement after a 22-year-long career. He tells us what made him an EFL bagsman and how he knew it was time to hang up the boots.

Burnley have not won at home in the league for an entire year- how real is the threat of back-to-back relegation? What's the root of their problem?

Where's it going wrong at Derby County and Norwich City?

Plus, there's been a sacking in League Two: having been let go by Crawley Town, what next for Colin Kazim-Richards?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Derby County defender Ryan Nyambe said "a lot" is going wrong for the squad in the midst of the club's early season struggle.

The Rams suffered their seventh defeat of the campaign at home to Stoke City on the weekend, leaving them second from bottom of the Championship with only one win from 11 games.

Under-pressure boss John Eustace is trying to turn things round despite a lengthy injury list, which grew when Lewis Travis limped out of the match against the Potters.

Nyambe said it feels like they are dealing with "a lot" of issues.

"Obviously, you can see injuries," he told BBC Radio Derby. "Then you lose games, confidence goes down - those are the two main factors.

"Everyone needs to gain confidence somehow whether it's next game we win the scruffy way, just get a win and then maybe it's a start for us.

"We all need to stand up and showcase what we're about. It's a tough league but I think we've just got to compete."

With Derby's injury problems depriving them of key defenders Sondre Langas, Matt Clarke, Craig Forsyth and Eiran Cashin, full-back Nyambe filled in as a centre-half against Stoke.

He said he has only played the position "about five times" in his career but that the team have got to work together.

"It's something I'm kind of used to, at the same time, I'm not.

"The gaffer asked me to step in so obviously I stepped in and took one for the team."

The Rams are next in action on Saturday in an lunchtime trip to Sheffield United (12:30 BST) and Nyambe said they must regroup quickly.

"Let's not do blame games, it's all of us together, we're all letting ourselves down," he said.

"There's obviously individual mistakes in games but we've all got to look at ourselves and as a team as well."

John Bennett
Final Score at Pride Park

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The fine margins never seem to go your way when you're struggling in the relegation zone and that was certainly the case for Derby County on Saturday.

Stoke City's winner goes in off the post but meanwhile, at the other end, Derby sub Rhian Brewster saw his second-half effort bounce wide off the woodwork. And to add to that, in the 89th minute, Stoke keeper Viktor Johansson came up with what looked, from my position in the press seats, to be one of the best diving saves I've seen all season.

So in the technical area, just a few rows down from where I was sitting, the pressure ramped up on Derby boss John Eustace.

I was interested to check out the fan reaction at full-time and of course there was disappointment but I was impressed by the way the supporters had backed the team during this tough time.

Maybe that's down to what surely is the longest injury list in the Championship right now, which is severely hampering Eustace's chances of turning this around.

Lewis Travis was the latest player to limp off on Saturday, proving yet again that when you're a struggling side it never rains but it pours.

In the post-match press conference Eustace said he was pleased by the response to a heavy midweek defeat by QPR. But he added that he was frustrated and angry about their current predicament.

He also stressed how proud he was of the effort from his players and I have to say, I certainly saw a group of players who seemed to be still fighting for their manager. The work rate is there and the endeavour is there but, from what I witnessed, it's creative quality that seems to be desperately lacking at this present time.

Eustace now has to hope that he can get some of those key players out of the treatment room and out on to the pitch before patience from the supporters runs out.

Derby County boss John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after their 1-0 defeat against Stoke City.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here:

Image source, Opta

Derby will seek to kick-start their season when Stoke head to Pride Park on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The second-bottom Rams have taken just two points from their past six games and were humbled 4-1 at QPR on Wednesday night, while they remain winless at home, drawing two and losing four of their six matches in all competitions.

The in-form Potters suffered a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at home to Middlesbrough on Tuesday, having taken 16 points from their six previous matches, but remain eighth and within striking distance of the top three.

• Derby are unbeaten in six home league games against Stoke (W3 D3) since a 0-2 defeat in February 2007.

• Stoke have scored just one goal in their past six league visits to Derby, Tom Ince netting in a 2-1 defeat in September 2021.

• Derby have been in losing position in their Championship matches this season for 50.3% of the time – the second-worst return in the competition, behind only Watford (52.1%).

• Stoke have won each of their past two away league games, and will be looking to win three in succession on their travels for the first time since December 2005 (run of four wins).

• So far during the 2026-27 Championship season, Derby remain the only side yet to score from a set piece (incl. penalties), while only four sides have conceded more set piece goals than the Rams (5).

Derby County head coach John Eustace says he does not feel under pressure despite the Rams sitting second from bottom in the Championship.

Wednesday's 4-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers was the East Midlands club's fourth in a six-game winless run.

Eustace is in his second full season in charge of Derby, having started out at Pride Park by guiding the Rams to Championship safety in his first few months in the job before then going on to lead them to within four points of reaching the play-offs last term.

"I don't feel the pressure," Eustace told BBC Radio Derby.

"I feel frustrated and angry, simple as that. It's not where we want to be and it's my responsibility to get results, no matter what anyone says or thinks. I have to find solutions with the team, and we have got to start picking up some wins as soon as we can."

Derby next face eighth-placed Stoke City on Saturday.

Listen to Eustace's full pre-match press conference by hitting the play button above, or visit Derby County's BBC Sounds page for all the latest interviews and analysis.

QPR are fifth in the Championship after beating Derby County 4-1 on Wednesday.

The defeat leaves the Rams still second from bottom and on a six-game winless run.

Here is what some of the fans of both sides made of the game.

QPR fans

Tomo - The team reached a different level. Shown glimpses of it before but it all clicked in the first half and even if Derby were off the pace it was a great performance.

Andrew - Classy Rangers. Plenty of moving parts, everyone looks good on the ball.

Don - Superb first half. We tore them apart and were too strong for them. From goalkeeper to up front everyone was superb. To give Derby credit they kept attacking for the whole second half even at 4-0 down and deserved their consolation goal. QPR now fighting with slick quick passing and energy - massive improvement from last season. Are we going up? Maybe.

Tim - Go on Rangers! Just hope we can get at least seven points from the next three games. Birmingham, Swansea and Southampton are three hard games. Be nice to finish in the play-offs.

Image source, Shutterstock

Derby fans

Steve - So poor. No passion, no desire, no creativity, no shape. Injuries are having an impact, but the style of football is negative and predictable.

John - Injuries acknowledged but, there is a reason why we lose a player for at least weeks if not months every game. Some is unlucky, some has to be down to the appalling level of fitness levels and conditioning of the players. It's a turgid style of football. I always want the manager and players to do well for Derby, but give us something to hang on to.

Andy - Lack of enthusiasm, fitness, desire and passion. Maybe time to change John Eustace, a certain Eddie Howe would be a great fit.

Per - Horrible defending and we must stop conceding sloppy goals to avoid relegation. Of course we have a lot of injuries but there seems to be a lack of leadership on the pitch.

Shaun - What can Derby do when you have nine players out including your whole back four and goalkeeper injured?

Derby County boss John Eustace spoke to BBC Radio Derby after the Rams' heavy defeat against Queens Park Rangers. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.