West Bromwich Albion will be looking to stay top of the Championship table when they welcome Derby County to The Hawthorns on Tuesday.

The Baggies are unbeaten in their opening six league games, winning four and drawing two. They drew 1-1 at home to Millwall on Saturday and are one point above second-placed Fulham and third-placed Stoke City, both of whom play on Wednesday.

Bournemouth and Queens Park Rangers sit two points behind Valerien Ismael's side and face off at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday, knowing victory could take them top.

Derby enter the game sitting 16th and are looking for their second league win of the campaign. They lost 2-0 at Birmingham on Friday night – stretching their winless run to four matches in all competitions.

Wayne Rooney's men have six points so far but could still receive a nine-point deduction with another three suspended due to financial breaches. 

  • Team news

West Brom will be without defenders Matt Clarke (hamstring) and Dara O'Shea, who fractured his ankle while on international duty and is now a long-term absentee.

The Rams will be missing Festy Ebsosele due to a hamstring injury, but he should return to training this week. Long-term absentees Colin Kazim-Richards (Achilles) and Krystian Bielik (knee) also remain sidelined.

Craig Forsyth remains suspended for the next two games after receiving a retrospective three-match ban for a challenge in the draw against rivals Nottingham Forest.

Kamil Jozwiak is available after missing Friday's game following international commitments, while Jason Knight will be hoping for a start, having made his first appearance of the season off the bench at St Andrew's.

  • Predicted lineups

West Bromwich Albion

Johnstone; Ajayi, Bartley, Kipre; Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend; Phillips, Robinson, Diangana.

Derby County

Roos; Byrne, Jagielka, Davies, Buchanan; Bird, Shinnie; Jozwiak, Morrison, Lawrence; Baldock.

  • Ones to watch

Alex Mowatt is the Baggies' one to watch. The 26-year-old played under Ismael at Barnsley last season and was instrumental in helping them reach the play-offs, scoring eight and assisting seven. He penned a three-year deal with West Brom in the summer after his contract with the Tykes expired. The Doncaster-born midfielder has two goals and one assist so far this season.

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It's tough to choose a standout performer for Derby this season, but captain Tom Lawrence is capable of causing the opposition problems. The 27-year-old scored a brilliant goal while playing the false-nine role against Forest to put the Rams ahead. He must now start producing on a more regular basis.

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  • Previous meetings

The most recent meeting between the sides was in the 2019-20 Championship season. West Brom won 2-0 at home on that occasion with goals from Grady Diangana and O'Shea before Derby's Louie Sibley was sent off in stoppage-time.

The Rams' last away victory in this fixture came in 2018 when they won 4-1 under Frank Lampard.

Overall they have met 121 times, with Derby winning 53 while the Baggies have won 38.

Back in 2020: 

  • How to watch

The game starts at 20:00 BST and will be available to watch via the red button on Sky Sports Football (channel 403). Fans worldwide can also watch via Rams TV or WBA TV, with passes costing £10.

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