Burnley v Derby: survival fight between bottom-three rivals

Burnley host Derby County in the Championship at Turf Moor on Saturday, 19 September 2026, with both teams in the relegation places and chasing a much-needed lift.

Recent league meetings offer little between them: both 2024/25 Championship fixtures finished 0-0, while Burnley edged the 2025 EFL Cup tie 2-1 at Turf Moor. Context is tight again with just one point separating the sides.

Form is fragile. The Clarets are winless in seven league matches, drawing three and losing four, and come in off defeats at Swansea and Norwich with draws against Middlesbrough and Wrexham in between. Derby have lost four of their last five league games, their only win in that run coming at Portsmouth.

Absences could bite. Burnley list defensive losses in Louis Jodan Beyer and Bashir Humphreys, midfielders Joshua Cullen and Hannibal Mejbri, and forwards Ashley Barnes and Jacob Bruun Larsen among several sidelined. The Rams report injuries to Craig Forsyth, Matthew Clarke and Derry Murkin at the back, striker Rhian Brewster, and goalkeeper Jacob Zetterström.

The match-up may hinge on how each side handles crosses and aerials. Burnley have yet to keep a clean sheet and concede 2.3 goals per game, but they do circulate the ball with 82.98% passing accuracy. Derby attempt a high volume of open-play crosses with 21.43% accuracy and have won 129 aerial duels. Bobby Clark has contributed two goals and two assists in the league.

A home win would take Burnley to six points and could move them towards safety. Victory for Derby would put them on seven points and could lift them out of the relegation places, tightening a congested lower half.