Ryan Mason must improve glaring West Brom issue from last defeat vs Derby County ahead of clash

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West Brom were beaten on penalties in the Carabao Cup opening round fixture against Derby County in August.

West Brom and Derby County are gearing up for their second meeting of the season ahead of their post-international break meeting.

In the Carabao Cup first round clash, the two sides met at The Hawthorns and played out a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes after a second-half goal from Aune Selland Heggebø and a 96th-minute equaliser from Joe Ward.

In their respective league seasons, West Brom sit second just behind leaders Middlesbrough after an undefeated start to Championship life under Ryan Mason.

John Eustace’s side are yet to register their first win of the Championship season so far, and the Rams will be hoping to repeat how the last meeting between the two sides went.

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West Brom must be more clinical vs Derby County after cup loss

Since their cup meeting in mid-August, the Baggies have added some marquee signings to their ranks, namely, with West Brom signing winger Samuel Iling-Junior on a season-long loan from Aston Villa and Charlie Taylor from Southampton.

However, Mason will be without one star in particular this weekend, who impressed against the Rams in August, after Tom Fellows left West Brom for Southampton.

Mason will be hoping that Iling-Junior can make the difference against Derby after their last meeting, in which the Baggies lacked a cutting edge.

The Rams scored their only shot on target in the 96th minute, with West Brom lacking a clinical nature to their play, which proved costly in the final stages.

After the Rams defeat, Mason told BBC Sport: “It’s not going to take away from the overall performance, there were lots of positives.

“I thought the performance of the team was really good, it’s so frustrating we didn’t win, we deserved so much more.

“On another day, we come away two or three-nil winners.”

Since then, West Brom beat Wrexham 3-2 after an Isaac Price brace, but scored only one goal against both Portsmouth in the 1-1 draw and once against Stoke City in their 1-0 win.

West Brom’s summer signing Heggebo will be hoping to net his first Championship goal after opening his Baggies account against the Rams, but Eustace will be desperate to spoil the striker’s party.

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John Eustace needs first Derby County win of Championship season

Derby need to finish mid-table this season, but the Rams have made a poor start on their quest for an improvement on last term’s feat, with Eustace’s men now sitting one spot above the relegation zone.

Eustace told Derby’s website: “The players never give up, which has happened since I’ve come to the football club.

“We’ve got a squad of players this year, and last year, that will fight to the end. I was very proud of the efforts.”

Eustace needs to harness that fighting spirit again at The Hawthorns on Saturday, given the importance of Derby finally getting off the mark this season, which will be an extremely tough test against the second-placed Baggies.