Slaven Bilić’s Baggies will take on Derby County on Wednesday as their push for promotion from the Sky Bet Championship continues at The Hawthorns (ko 5pm).
Derby County
Their last outing
Derby salvaged a point against local rivals Nottingham Forest at Pride Park in their most recent fixture.
Joe Lolley's strike fired the visitors into a first-half lead and they looked set to hold on to for all three points, especially when Martyn Waghorn was sent off for the home side late on.
But with one of the final attacks of the game, Chris Martin bundled in a 97th-minute equaliser to provide a dramatic end to an otherwise low-key East Midlands derby.
Derby: Hamer; Bogle, Evans, Clarke, Forsyth (Lowe 81); Rooney, Bird (Whittaker 89); Holmes (Jozefzoon 66), Sibley (Shinnie 82), Knight (Waghorn 66); Martin.
Subs: Roos, Davies, Malone, Brown.
In their dugout
Phillip Cocu took the reigns at Pride Park in the summer after former boss Frank Lampard was appointed Chelsea Head Coach.
The former PSV and Fenerbahce boss, who has finished fourth at the World Cup with the Netherlands as both a player and assistant coach, has three Eredivisie titles to his name as a manager.
Life hasn’t always been easy in England for the Eindhoven-born manager, but an improved run of form since January has seen Cocu’s men pushing for a Play-Off place.
One to watch
Wayne Rooney joined Derby County on the first day of 2020, becoming both a player and a coach under Cocu at Pride Park.
England and Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer has been playing in central midfield for Derby and has made 15 league appearances so far, scoring five times.
Rooney’s arrival has seen a major upturn in results for the Rams, with Cocu’s men rising from 17th at the turn of the year, to being on the cusp of the top six in seventh place before their trip to The Hawthorns.
Rooney, who scored 53 times in 120 games for England, has over 700 appearances and 300 goals to his name alongside an incredible 16 honours in club football to date.
Our last meeting
The points were shared the last time Albion played Derby as the sides drew 1-1 at Pride Park, with penalties at the centre of the action.
Waghorn put the home side ahead from 12-yards after he was fouled by Kieran Gibbs in the opening six minutes, but he couldn’t repeat the feat just before half-time when Sam Johnstone superbly saved his controversial second spot-kick.
Instead it was Kenneth Zohore who scored the third penalty of the day late on to ensure the Baggies left Derbyshire with a point.
Stats
Albion
• The Baggies have bagged seven goals in their last two matches - the most amount they have netted in the space of two games all season.
• When Ahmed Hegazi and Kamil Grosicki scored against Hull, they took Albion’s tally of different goalscorers in the Sky Bet Championship to 19 different scorers. The Baggies have had 20 different scorers in all competitions this season, with Conor Townsend netting in the FA Cup.
• Slaven Bilić’s men have kept five clean sheets in their last eight league games.
Derby
• Phillip Cocu’s men have picked up 31 points in their last 16 league games, which is more points than they did in their first 25 league matches.
• Derby are unbeaten in six league games (W5, D1, L0).
• The Rams have picked up just 20 league points from a possible 60 on the road so far this season (W5, D5, L10).
Head to head
|
|
Albion wins |
Draws |
Derby wins |
|
League |
34 |
29 |
40 |
|
FA Cup |
2 |
1 |
7 |
|
League Cup |
1 |
0 |
4 |
|
Other Cup |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
37 |
30 |
52 |
Our man to watch
Charlie Austin fired his second goal in as many games to open the scoring against Hull City at The Hawthorns.
The Baggies forward marked his 31st birthday with his tenth Sky Bet Championship goal of the season.
The last time 'Chaz' scored in consecutive games was when he hit six goals in five matches for the Baggies, including his brilliant brace against Birmingham City.
Any chance to watch this again.
☑️ Pass of the season
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) July 6, 2020
☑️ Accomplished finish @GrosickiKamil's first goal for us came at the perfect moment on Sunday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/XwBV1DQ8Ts
Follow the game
Season tickets holders who have claimed an iFollow package can again watch Albion play live when the Baggies take on Derby County.
If supporters have not claimed an iFollow package, they can still buy an audio match pass to listen to the game live. Find out more here.
Please ensure you have your redeemed your code and logged in to your account well in advance of the game. IFollow coverage starts one hour before kick-off.
Once logged in, supporters should visit our Match Centre and click 'Watch Now'.
If you have any problems with iFollow please contact ifollow@efl.com
Comprehensive coverage of the clash with the Rams is also available in our Match Centre, where you can listen to live commentary on WBA Radio or follow our live text feed.
WBA Radio is the only service that allows Baggies fans around the world - from Smethwick to the Sahara - access to uninterrupted live commentaries from every one of our competitive games. iFollow subscribers can join Gez Mulholland and Andy Johnson for Baggies-biased live commentary on Wednesday.
International supporters who have an iFollow subscription may be able to live stream the game depending on where they are located around the world. To find out, click here.
You’ll also be able to find score updates on the club's social media channels.