Turf Moor will play host to an interesting match-up in the second round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday evening, with Premier League side Burnley welcoming Championship outfit Derby County.
Burnley have joined the competition in the second round, but Derby have needed to win once to book their spot at this stage, beating fellow Championship side West Bromwich Albion on penalties.
Match preview
Burnley had a difficult start to their 2025-26 Premier League campaign, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, but they managed to bounce back in Saturday's home fixture with Sunderland.
Indeed, goals from Josh Cullen and Jaidon Anthony secured all three points for Scott Parker's side, who will be back in league action against Manchester United at Old Trafford next weekend.
Burnley's main aim for this season is to avoid relegation from the Premier League, meaning that any cup runs would be an added bonus, although winning breeds confidence.
The Clarets have never won the League Cup, but they did lift the FA Cup in 1914, and it would not be a shock to see them enjoy a relatively strong run in this season's EFL Cup.
Burnley are actually unbeaten against Derby since 2007, winning nine of the last 14 matches between the two sides, although their two games in the Championship last season finished goalless.
Derby County manager John Eustace on August 16, 2025
Derby's last victory over Burnley was a 1-0 success in the Championship back in 2007, although their two Championship games last season were their first meetings since 2016.
The Rams finished 19th in the Championship last season, so there is plenty of room for improvement this term, but just one point from three matches has left them 20th in the Championship table.
John Eustace's side opened their season with a 3-1 defeat to Stoke City before going down 5-3 at home to Coventry City, but they did manage to draw 1-1 with Bristol City on Friday night.
Derby beat West Brom on penalties in the first round of this season's EFL Cup, and they will now be bidding to claim a Premier League scalp to advance to round three.
The Rams have never won the League Cup, but they lifted the FA Cup in 1945-46, beating Charlton Athletic in the final of the competition.
Burnley form (all competitions):
LW
Derby County EFL Cup form:
W
Derby County form (all competitions):
LWLD
Team News
Josh Cullen celebrates his goal for Burnley on August 23, 2025
Burnley head coach Parker will ring the changes from the Premier League clash with Sunderland, with captain Cullen among those set to drop out of the side.
Max Weiss is likely to feature between the sticks, while Joe Worrall, Lucas Pires, Oliver Sonne, Josh Laurent, Aaron Ramsey, Loum Tchaouna, Marcus Edwards and Zian Flemming are all expected to be introduced.
The home side have not reported any fresh injury concerns following the Sunderland fixture, but Jordan Beyer, Connor Roberts, Armando Broja, Axel Tuanzebe, Bashir Humphreys, Zeki Amdouni and Manuel Benson remain unavailable for selection due to fitness issues.
As for Derby, Curtis Nelson remains unavailable due to a knee injury, while Lars-Jorgen Salvesen and Corey Blackett-Taylor are also expected to miss the game due to fitness problems.
Head coach Eustace will make changes to the side that started in the Championship on Saturday, with Rhian Brewster among those expected to come into the XI.
Joe Ward should also start, in addition to Kenzo Goudmijn, with both players coming off the bench in the team's 1-1 draw with Bristol City at Pride Park.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Weiss; Sonne, Worrall, Esteve, Pires; Laurent, Ramsey, Hannibal; Tchaouna, Flemming, Edwards
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Vickers; Forsyth, Sanderson, Rooney; Ward, Ozoh, Goudmijn, Clark, Elder; Brewster, Brown
SM words green background
We say: Burnley 2-1 Derby County
Burnley will not be at full strength, but Parker will still be able to send a quality XI onto the field, and we are expecting the Premier League club to book their spot in the third round of the EFL Cup.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
ID:579950:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect7053:
No Data Analysis info
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!