Derby County will host Sheffield Wednesday at Pride Park
Stadium in their 36th Sky Bet Championship match of the season on Saturday
afternoon (3pm kick-off).
The Rams are on the hunt for their third home victory in a row, after previously beating Swansea City 2-0 and then triumphing 3-1 over Blackburn Rovers last time out.
Opponents Wednesday recently had their fate sealed, with League One football confirmed for next season.
In the previous meeting between the two sides, Derby came out on top in an emphatic 3-0 display at Hillsborough – a Patrick Agyemang double and Liam Thompson strike taking the points back in December.
Ticket Information
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 9am until kick-off on 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 Opposition
Sheffield Wednesday were fighting an uphill battle for survival from the first moment this season.
The usage of six goalkeepers throughout the campaign is a further illustration that, beyond the external factors, Wednesday’s season has brought challenges.
Promising Northern Ireland international Pierce Charles has been the Owls’ number one since advancing through their youth ranks, but has made just nine appearances between two lengthy spells out with a shoulder injury.
Other options in between the sticks have been Ethan Horvath, Ben Hamer, Joe Lumley, Murphy Cooper and most recently Seny Dieng – who departed the club two days before the Owls’ match at Pride Park.
The Owls brought in Premier League pedigree with ex-Southampton forward Nathan Redmond and former Leeds United captain Liam Cooper, who joined in November.
The January transfer window saw nine new players come through the door on loan deals or free transfers, with Wednesday limited by financial restrictions. Notable additions include Derby’s current Goal of the Season Award holder Jerry Yates – who led the line at Pride Park in 2024/25. Season.
Luton Town midfielder Marvellous Nakamba entered as a free agent, as did former Olympiakos youth winger Zain Silcott-Duberry.
Henrick Pedersen, former Assistant Coach during Danny Röhl’s tenure in South Yorkshire, has been in charge at Hillsborough since July 2025.
The Danish coach has previous managing experience in Germany’s second tier with Eintracht Braunschweig, in Norway’s Eliteserien with Strømsgodset (where he managed Rams striker Lars-Jørgen Salvesen) and in the Norwegian third tier with Vendsyssel FF.
Against a backdrop of ownership change and points deductions, the outcome Owls fans were well-prepared for was confirmed a couple of weeks ago when Wednesday reached the point of no return. With a bigger points gap between them and safety than there were left to play for, the club became the first in EFL history to have relegation confirmed in February.
The result that confirmed the drop to the third tier came at city rivals Sheffield United.
With League One football now certain next season, the club that has been in financial strife for almost a year, and in Administration since the end of October, has other goals to achieve.
The first of which is probably to move out of the negative in the points column of the league table. The Administration event cost the Owls a mandatory 12-point penalty, and the financial misdemeanours that preceded it cost the club six more. It means that, with one win and eight draws from their 35 league games to date, they still sit seven points in the red.
To get into a positive points position would be one box ticked as no club has ever completed a season with a points total of less than zero – the record low in a 46-game EFL season is 20 earned by Doncaster Rovers during their 1997/98 campaign.
While avoiding some of those unwanted records will be a welcome achievement, the biggest goal of them all is for the historic Hillsborough club to exit Administration and begin to build again.
Classic Clash
Seldom has there been a bigger ‘winner-takes-all’ occasion at Pride Park in recent seasons then when the two sides met in the final day of the 2020/21 campaign.
Both Derby and Sheffield Wednesday were in a four-way fight for survival, along with Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers, with both sides knowing a win might be necessary to secure safety.
In a topsy-turvy clash, Wayne Rooney’s side were the first to turn the game around with a quickfire double after the restart, through a Martyn Waghorn header and a fine effort from loanee Patrick Roberts, who cancelled out Sam Hutchinson’s first-half opener.
Wednesday were level when Callum Paterson swept home from close range before Julian Borner put the Owls back in front from a corner.
Despite an 88th-minute equaliser for Cardiff City against Rotherham, Derby desperately needed a leveller, and they found one from the spot as Waghorn held his nerve to make it 3-3 and help retain the Rams’ Sky Bet Championship status for another season.
Pre-Match Thoughts
Head Coach John Eustace caught up with RamsTV as his team looks to clinch their third consecutive Pride Park win, after previous victories over Swansea City and last weekend against Blackburn Rovers.
Derry Murkin also sat down with RamsTV to look back on his start to life in Derby and settling into the area after joining in the winter transfer window, as well as looking ahead to Saturday’s Pride Park clash.
Matchday Programme
Get your Derby County matchday programme, ‘The Ram’ – including an exclusive interview with defender Carlton Morris – 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.
Match Officials
Oliver Langford will be the man in the middle on Saturday.
Across his 22 league and cup games so far in 2025/26, he has shown a total of 75 yellow cards and three red cards.
Conor Brown and Natalie Aspinall have been named as the Assistant Referees, while Robert Massey-Ellis has been appointed as the Fourth Official.
RamsTV Audio & Video Coverage
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.
Highlights & Match Replay
RamsTV’s Match highlights will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after the game.
Rams Matchday Experience
RamsTV Coverage
….
Live audio commentary for all of Derby County’s first team matches in the 2024/25 season – both league and cup fixtures – is available to RamsTVAudio subscribers based both in the UK and Internationally.
Information about RamsTV’sVideo Live Streaming and other services for this game can be found here.
Highlights & Match Replay
Full match reaction will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after full time, with highlights and a full match replay available from 12am the day following the fixture.
Rams Matchday Experience
Is it your first time visiting Pride Park Stadium to watch Derby County in action? Here’s a handy guide to help you along the way with all you need to know!
Home Supporter Guide
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.
Visiting Supporter Guide
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.
