Burnley vs Derby County - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking for their maiden victory of the 2026-27 Championship campaign ahead of the extended international break, recently-relegated Burnley welcome fellow strugglers Derby County to Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon.

The Clarets were made to pay for individual mistakes during the trip to Swansea City last time out, whilst the Rams suffered further Pride Park pain, defeated by Midlands rivals Birmingham City.

Out of the three recently-relegated sides, Burnley were highlighted in pre-season as the one which could struggle the most at the beginning of the term, however, not even the most optimism Blackburn Rovers fan would have predicted such a troubled Turf Moor start.

Alongside Cardiff City, the Clarets are one of two sides in the Championship who are yet to enjoy a victory, with the Lancashire outfit in the midst of an eight-game winless run (D3 L5) across league and EFL Cup action.

Largie Ramazani's first goal for Burnley was a mere consolation in South Wales last weekend, when Nicky Hayen's troops rued individual mistakes in the deserved 3-1 defeat by early pacesetters Swansea.

Rather surprisingly for a team boasting six-time Premier League champion Kyle Walker, the Clarets have conceded a Championship-high total of 16 goals, last keeping a clean sheet during an EFL Cup match at Bradford City on August 26.

Aiming to address their worrying form at the start of 2026-27, Burnley moved to recruit some Championship reliability in the free agent market, with Leicester City legend Jamie Vardy joining the Turf Moor ranks.

After an unlikely playoff push during the second half of last season, Derby County appear destined for a relegation scrap this time around, with the East Midlanders losing each of their past three Championship contests.

Bobby Clark's second strike of the second-tier campaign fired the Rams ahead at Pride Park against Birmingham last time out, however, Blues produced a winning comeback courtesy of headed efforts from Carlos Vicente and Paik Seung-Ho.

Sitting 22nd in the Championship standings and netting a division-low six goals in seven matches, Derby are suffering massively without the talismanic presence of injured striker Patrick Agyemang, despite the obvious talents of fellow attackers Clark and Sammie Szmodics.

A slight cause for optimism ahead of this weekend's match, the Rams' only win across their opening seven league matches arrived on the road on September 1, when efforts from Szmodics and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen secured maximum points at Portsmouth.

To counter that Fratton Park positivity, Derby are winless in their past 15 competitive clashes (D5 L10) with Burnley, who were last defeated in this fixture by a single Steve Howard goal in January 2007.

An important defender during Burnley's promotion-winning campaign of 2024-25, Bashir Humphreys is currently sidelined with a muscular injury.

Further reducing the options at the back for the Clarets, Jordan Beyer is nursing a hamstring strain.

Possessing a similar age profile to fellow striker Vardy, Ashley Barnes has not featured for Burnley since the final day of the Premier League season in May.

Derby's squad has been ravaged by injuries this calendar year, with key defenders Matthew Clarke (calf) and Derry Murkin (hamstring) out of action.

First-choice goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom recently picked up a knee injury and will be unavailable for around two months, whilst Champions League winner Rhian Brewster suffered concussion during the loss at West Ham on September 5.

Weib; Sonne, Walker, Julio, Roberts; Hatate, Alleyne, Amdouni, Laurent, Ramazani; Vardy

Vickers; Ward, Langas, Cashin, Taylor; Clark, Ozoh, Fuseini, Szmodics, Fraulo; Morris

Last enjoying league victory at Turf Moor in October 2025, Burnley are desperate for some Lancashire cheer this Saturday.

Out of form and in the midst of an injury crisis, Derby are, in theory, the perfect opponent for the Clarets to finally halt their winless streak against.

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

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