West Ham United have been handed a timely warning before Saturday’s Championship clash with Derby County after John Eustace’s side combined their first league victory of the season with three late additions to their squad.
Derby beat Portsmouth 2-0 at Fratton Park on Tuesday night, despite having only 37.3% possession and six shots compared with Portsmouth’s 18. Sammie Szmodics opened the scoring before substitute Lars-Jørgen Salvesen secured the points after the break.
The Rams have since strengthened further, completing Deadline Day moves for Eiran Cashin, Mohammed Fuseini and David Ozoh before travelling to London Stadium this weekend.
Derby finally click before West Ham trip
Derby’s opening weeks had been difficult.
Eustace’s side entered Tuesday without a Championship victory and had been beaten 3-0 at home by Swansea City only three days earlier.
Their response at Portsmouth was considerably more encouraging.
Szmodics marked his return to the starting XI after a thigh problem by scoring after 16 minutes, finishing following good work from Bobby Clark. It was already his third goal of the season.
Portsmouth enjoyed much more of the ball and eventually finished with 18 attempts, but Derby restricted them to just two shots on target.
That efficiency should interest Nuno Espírito Santo.
West Ham also benefited from clinical finishing in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over Wolves, when Divine Mukasa scored twice as the Hammers claimed their own first Championship win of the campaign.
The result leaves both clubs heading into Saturday with some badly needed momentum.
Supporters can follow the fixture and every result throughout the season through our permanently updated West Ham fixtures and results page.
Szmodics gives West Ham another threat to contain
Szmodics looks like the most obvious attacking danger.
The 30-year-old had missed Derby’s previous match with a thigh issue before returning from the bench against Swansea and then starting at Portsmouth.
His finish was Derby’s first meaningful attacking moment of the evening.
Salvesen then demonstrated the options Eustace has from the bench.
The Norwegian replaced Rhian Brewster in the 59th minute and scored three minutes later, firing home from inside the area after Oscar Fraulo’s pass.
West Ham have already conceded six Championship goals in four matches, including twice against Wolves, so Derby’s ability to punish limited opportunities cannot be ignored.
Nuno himself admitted after Tuesday’s victory that West Ham still have areas to improve despite finally getting three points on the board.
Derby strengthen with three late signings
The squad West Ham face could also be stronger than the one that won at Portsmouth.
Derby completed three additions around the deadline.
Eiran Cashin has returned to his boyhood club on a season-long loan from Brighton. The 24-year-old previously made 144 appearances for Derby before moving to the Premier League club in January 2025.
Ghana international Mohammed Fuseini has joined on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise.
The 24-year-old can operate across the front line and arrives with experience in the Champions League and Europa League. Derby say he registered 20 goal involvements across 76 appearances for Union.
Perhaps the most familiar addition is David Ozoh.
Derby have converted the Crystal Palace midfielder’s relationship with the club into a permanent transfer, handing him a five-year contract after loan spells during each of the previous two seasons.
The 21-year-old has already made 47 appearances for Derby, including 35 last season.
Whether all three are ready to start at London Stadium remains to be seen, but Eustace now has more options than he did before Deadline Day.
One Derby injury worth monitoring
There is at least one potential concern for the visitors.
Experienced defender Craig Forsyth was forced off through injury after 80 minutes at Portsmouth, with Ryan Nyambe replacing him.
Derby have not yet confirmed the severity of the problem.
That makes Forsyth’s availability one to monitor as Saturday approaches, particularly with Cashin now available to increase Eustace’s defensive options.
There was no recorded injury substitution for Dion Sanderson in the official match information, so I would not repeat the earlier suggestion that Sanderson was injured unless Derby provide a fresh update.
West Ham cannot waste Wolves momentum
Saturday now looks more interesting than it did 48 hours ago.
West Ham finally found their attacking rhythm against Wolves.
Derby responded to their own difficult start with an away victory, a clean sheet and three Deadline Day additions.
The Hammers should still enter the game expecting to win at London Stadium, particularly if their promotion ambitions are genuine.
But Derby have just demonstrated they do not need to dominate possession to cause problems.
Nuno’s side were fortunate not to fall behind during the opening stages against Wolves.
Allow Szmodics, Salvesen or Derby’s new attacking options similar opportunities and West Ham may not escape so easily again.
Saturday represents a chance to turn one breakthrough victory into the beginning of a run.
Derby’s response at Portsmouth is a warning that it will not simply happen automatically.
