Preview:Derby County vs Bristol City - prediction, team news, lineups

Bristol City will look to maintain their unbeaten start when they travel to Pride Park for Friday's Championship meeting with Derby County.

Meanwhile, Derby will be desperate to record their first win of the new season after losing their opening two league matches.

Match preview

After steering Derby to the safety of 19th place last season, John Eustace would have wanted to hit the ground running in his first full season in the Pride Park dugout.

The Rams kicked off the new campaign with a 3-1 away defeat against Stoke City, before they prevailed in a penalty shootout in their EFL Cup first-round meeting with West Bromwich Albion.

However, they were unable to build upon their successful cup outing in Saturday's home game against Coventry City, despite establishing a 3-2 lead thanks to goals from Callum Elder, Carlton Morris and Ebou Adams.

They capitulated with three goals conceded in seven minutes as they slumped to a 5-3 defeat against a Coventry side coached by their former boss Frank Lampard.

As a result, the Rams are one of six teams without a point in the Championship this season, and they are now at risk of starting a season with three consecutive league defeats for the first time since 2020-21.

They may at least be able to draw inspiration from the 3-0 victory that they picked up in their previous home meeting with Bristol City last August.

Bristol City experienced a change of manager over the summer after Liam Manning opted to leave for a new challenge following the playoff semi-final defeat to Sheffield United.

While Manning took over the reins at Norwich City, the Robins opted to bring Gerhard Struber back to English football for the first time since his Barnsley departure in 2020.

Struber started his tenure with an impressive 4-1 away win over Sheffield United, before his side recorded a 2-0 victory over League Two MK Dons in the EFL Cup first round.

They were unable to make it a third consecutive victory in Saturday's home clash against Charlton Athletic, although they did at least record back-to-back clean sheets with a goalless draw at Ashton Gate.

Bristol City will now be focusing on Friday's trip to Pride Park, and while they have lost one of their games against Derby last season, they have won six of their previous eight head-to-head league matches (L2).

After beating Sheffield United on their last road trip, the Robins are aiming to record back-to-back away Championship victories for the first time since November 2024.

Derby County Championship form:

L L

Derby County form (all competitions):

L W L

Bristol City Championship form:

W D

Bristol City form (all competitions):

W W D

Team News

Derby are unable to call upon Curtis Nelson, Lars-Jorgen Salvesen, Sondre Langas, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Owen Beck.

Kane Wilson has recently stepped up his recovery from a minor knee operation, although it remains to be seen whether he will be ready for Friday's fixture.

Forward Rhian Brewster could make a matchday squad for the first time since joining Derby on a free transfer at the start of the month.

As for the visitors, midfielder Joe Williams has suffered a setback in his recovery from an ankle injury and is now expected to be out for up to eight weeks.

The 28-year-old is joined on Bristol City's injury list by Luke McNally, Cam Pring and Max O'Leary due to injury.

Mark Sykes and former Derby City midfielder Max Bird are pushing for starting berths after coming off the bench to play over half-an-hour in Saturday's home clash against Charlton.

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Wilder Zetterstrom; Sanderson, Batth, Clarke; Nyambe, Thompson, Ozoh, Elder; Adams; Jackson, Morris

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

Vitek; Tanner, Vyner, Atkinson; Sykes, Knight, Bird, McCrorie; Mehmeti, Twine; Riis

We say: Derby County 1-3 Bristol City

Bristol City have conceded just one goal in their opening two games, while Derby have shipped eight times across their first two Championship matches of the new season.

With that in mind, we think that the Robins could capitalise on Derby's defensive struggles to pick up all three points in Friday's encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.