EFL Championship PREVIEW 9 Sep 2026: Derby patch a decimated defence for West Brom's visit while Charlton and QPR meet high in the table

Three midweek Championship fixtures, and the tightest framing belongs to the London one: per Sports Mole, despite both losing at the weekend, Charlton and QPR "still sit in sixth and third position in the Championship table respectively." Nathan Jones arrives off a 4-0 defeat at Stoke that left him doubly sore — "I'm bitterly disappointed with my own team's performance, but I'm as bitterly disappointed with another performance as well" — yet unshaken about the bigger picture: "We've lost but we're in a really good position. We've got 10 points from five games, which is promotion form." His side are without Billy Koumetio and Collins Sichenje "in the long term" with Nathaniel Chalobah "a doubt", while QPR's problems are fresher: "Ilias Chair and Richard Kone are expected to miss this contest having been withdrawn during the first half against Middlesbrough."

At Pride Park the story is attrition. The72 counts Derby's walking wounded: "DCFC remain without Patrick Agyemang for the long-term, while Carlton Morris (calf) is set to be out for another week or two and Filip Bilbija (back) is unlikely to return", and behind them "the defence has been heavily impacted with both Derry Murkin and Craig Forsyth out for as long as four months. Star central defender Matt Clarke is out for three months as well, limiting Eustace's options at the back." John Eustace added Rhian Brewster to the list with a concussion: "It is a big blow because I was really excited to give him a run of games. He's a top performer at this level and needs to get fit and get games under his belt." West Brom travel with a spring in the step from a 1-0 win over Watford their head coach James Morrison relished for its ugliness — "Sometimes those 1-0s when you don't play very well are more pleasing than the games with good football" — and with a new cult hero, match-winner Jimmy-Jay Morgan: "I'm surprised really by how good he is." The night's remaining game pits two winners from contrasting weekends: Norwich City arrive from Bramall Lane where "goals from Anthony Musaba, Mohamed Toure and Mathias Kvistgaarden secured a 3-1 triumph over Sheffield United", while Birmingham "played out a pulsating 2-2 draw with West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers." Norwich's Jovon Makama "is yet to feature in 2026-27 because of a muscle injury"; Birmingham "are in the midst of a full-blown midfield fitness crisis, with Jhon Solis sidelined for up to 10 days."