Cardiff City are on the road for the first time in the 2026/27 Championship season as Brian Barry-Murphy's side travel to Pride Park to face Derby County. The Bluebirds opened their campaign with a dramatic 1-1 draw against Wrexham last Monday, with Rubin Colwill's stoppage-time free-kick rescuing a point in front of a packed Cardiff City Stadium.
First Half Action at Pride Park
Cardiff took the lead in the 19th minute when Cian Ashford swept home from close range. Alex Robertson sent a corner deep and Ronan Kpakio hooked a ball back in towards the six-yard box. Carlton Morris left his man, Ashford, in the middle of the goal and the Bluebirds man instinctively swept it into the bottom corner.
Derby responded and levelled in the 26th minute through Carlton Morris. A direct ball over the centre-halves by Bobby Clark saw Morris nod towards goal and outmuscle Perry Ng, slotting home in a one-on-one with Nathan Trott.
Team News and Injury Concerns
Cardiff were forced into a reshuffle with no centre-backs available. Gabriel Osho, the one centre-back used on Monday, missed out after hyper-extending his knee in the draw against Wrexham. Right-back Perry Ng and left-back Joel Bagan started at centre-half, flanked by Ronan Kpakio and Calum Scanlon. Alex Robertson took the No.6 role, with Rubin Colwill fit enough to start in midfield.
Derby County XI: Zetterstrom; Johnston, Langas; Sanderson, Taylor; Mowatt, Fraulo; Travis; Blackett-Taylor, Morris, Clark. Cardiff City XI: Trott; Kpakio, Ng, Bagan, Scanlon; Robertson, Moylan, R. Colwill; Tanner, Salech, Ashford.
Manager and Stats Ahead of the Game
Brian Barry-Murphy said: "I've watched them really closely over the course of last season and particularly at the beginning of this season so we're fully prepared. We'll be looking to put out our best team on Saturday and be backed by a huge following and give it everything to play well and win."
Derby County have won just one of their last eight league games against Cardiff City (D2 L5), though that sole victory came in their last home fixture against the Welsh side – a 1-0 win in September 2024. Cardiff City have won just one of their last five away league games against Derby County (D2 L2), scoring exactly one goal in four of those matches.
Derby are looking to avoid losing their opening two league games of a campaign for the second consecutive season; prior to that, the Rams had only suffered that fate once since 2005-06 onwards (in 2020-21). Cardiff have failed to win their opening away league game of a campaign in each of the last four seasons (D2 L2), with their last in the Championship witnessing them lose 5-0 to Burnley in 2024.
