Preview: West Ham United vs Derby County - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season, title favourites West Ham United host Derby County at the London Stadium in an all-important Championship match on Saturday afternoon.

The Hammers flexed their attacking powers to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers in East London last time out, whilst the Rams were at their efficient best to collect maximum points at Portsmouth.

Match preview

Dwarfing the majority of their second-tier rivals in terms of club size and squad value, West Ham United surprisingly endured a three-game winless run (D2 L1) at the beginning of the Championship season.

However, the promotion-chasing Hammers sent out an ominous message to the rest of the division on Tuesday night, when they hit Wolves for four at the London Stadium to claim a maiden victory of the campaign.

Netting two long-range efforts at the expense of Jose Sa in between the Old Gold's posts, Manchester City loanee Divine Musaka announced himself to the West Ham faithful on his home league debut for the club.

The problems of Nuno Espirito Santo's men have arrived at the back during the opening six competitive matches of the term, with the Hammers scoring an impressive 15 goals but failing to record a single clean sheet.

In response to their unconvincing defensive performances so far, the West Ham hierarchy moved to secure left-back Adama Boiro and Nottingham Forest centre-back Morato before the transfer deadline.

© Imago / Every Second Media

After the disappointment of missing out on the playoffs last season, Derby's slump continued into 2026-27 with a four-game winless streak (D1 L3) across Championship and EFL Cup duties, however, the East Midlanders managed their maiden victory on Tuesday night.

It was a classic second-tier away performance from a John Eustace team at Fratton Park, where efforts from Sammie Szmodics and substitute Lars-Jorgensen Salvesen ensured that the Rams collected maximum points against the run of play.

Now on a mission to record consecutive league triumphs for the first time since March, Derby are sitting in 16th position in the Championship standings, just two points behind Eustace's ex-employers Birmingham City in eighth spot.

The final days of the summer transfer window had a theme of familiarity at Pride Park, with former favourites Eiran Cashin and David Ozoh returning to bolster a backline decimated by recent injuries.

There was also the curious deadline-day case of new Derby striker Mohamed Fuseini, who quickly travelled up the A38 before the 11pm deadline on Tuesday after his first-choice switch to Birmingham City was called off.

West Ham United Championship form:

West Ham United form (all competitions):

Derby County Championship form:

Derby County form (all competitions):

Team News

© Iconsport / PA Images

Subbed before the hour mark earlier in the week, West Ham right-back Kyle Walker-Peters could be replaced by Joel Veltman in the starting XI on Saturday.

Brace-bagging Mukasa has made an excellent claim for an extended run in the team alongside former Celtic star Arne Engels.

Regular starters at the very beginning of the term, Taty Castellanos and Mohamadou Kante settled for spots on the bench last time out.

As if Derby's defensive issues could not get any worse, centre-back Craig Forsyth is currently a doubt after being forced off at Fratton Park in midweek.

Deadline-day arrival Fuseini will have to settle for a place on the bench due to the form of Szmodics and attacking midfielder Bobby Clark.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Veltman, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles; Bowen, Mukasa, Engels, Solomon; Pablo, Piroe

Derby County possible starting lineup:

Zetterstrom; Ward, Sanderson, Langas, Taylor; Fraulo, Mowatt, Hedges, Clark, Szmodics; Salvesen

We say: West Ham United 2-0 Derby County

After putting four past Wolves earlier in the week, West Ham's next task is stringing a few positive results together in the Championship.

Derby will need a lot to go their way in East London to avoid a defeat which appears highly likely.

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