The 9 players set to miss Derby County v QPR - ft Ebou Adams | OneFootball

We looked at which Derby County and QPR players are set to miss the game at Pride Park on Saturday.

Derby County will be looking to make it back-to-back home wins when they take on Queens Park Rangers in the Championship at Pride Park on Saturday.

After a busy summer of transfer activity, Derby were widely tipped to be one of the dark horses in the second tier this season, but it was a disappointing start to the season for John Eustace's side as they won just one of their first 10 league games.

The Rams ended a five-game winless run as they picked up a 1-0 victory over fellow strugglers Norwich City at Pride Park on Tuesday night, with David Ozoh's 55th-minute strike sealing all three points, and while they have moved up to 19th in the table, they are only three points above the relegation zone.

While Derby are languishing at the wrong end of the table, it has been an outstanding start to the season for QPR, and they returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory at Swansea City on Wednesday night, with Rumarn Burrell's 18th-minute goal proving enough to earn another away maximum for Julien Stephan's men.

Given that Malick Yalcouye was sent off for the Swans in the first half, the Hoops may be frustrated they did not add to their lead, but they still managed to come away from South Wales with a win, and they are now eighth in the table, level on points with fifth-placed Charlton Athletic.

As Derby and QPR prepare to do battle on Saturday, we looked at which players are set to miss the game.

Curtis Nelson - Derby County

Defender Curtis Nelson was a key part of Derby's promotion from League One in the 2023-24 campaign, and he was also a regular in the first half of last season in the Championship, but he has been sidelined since January due to a serious knee injury.

Eustace revealed last month that Nelson was closing in on a return to training, but having been left out of the club's 25-man squad list, he will be unable to feature for the Rams until January at the earliest.

Owen Beck - Derby County

Having worked with him previously at Blackburn Rovers, defender Owen Beck was one of a number of players to reunite with Eustace at Pride Park this summer as he joined Derby on a season-long loan from Liverpool.

Beck impressed during his loan spell at Ewood Park last season, but he is yet to make his debut for the Rams, and while Eustace is hoping to have him back in training within the next week, the game against QPR will come too soon for him.

Ebou Adams - Derby County

Despite losing the captaincy to new signing Lewis Travis, Ebou Adams remains a crucial part of the Derby midfield, and he has started all but one league game for Eustace's men this season.

Adams has worn the armband for the last two matches in Travis' absence, but having picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the victory over Norwich in midweek, he will miss the visit of QPR due to suspension.

Lewis Travis - Derby County

Like Beck, Travis was another player to link up with Eustace at Derby this summer after starring under him at Blackburn, with the Rams eventually signing him in a deal that could be worth more than £3 million after a lengthy transfer saga.

Travis started six consecutive league games for the Rams after his arrival at Pride Park, but he has missed the last two matches with a calf injury that is expected to keep him out of action for six weeks.

Liam Thompson - Derby County

Midfielder Liam Thompson signed a new two-year contract at Derby this summer, and after starting the first three league games, it looked set to be a big season for the 23-year-old.

However, Thompson suffered a knee injury in training in September that Eustace claimed would keep him out for five weeks, so he is unlikely to return before the start of November at the earliest.

Joe Walsh - QPR

Goalkeeper Joe Walsh surprisingly began the season as QPR's first choice goalkeeper ahead of Paul Nardi in a big show of faith from Stephan, but just as he was beginning to establish himself in the team, he sustained a wrist fracture last month.

In the latest update on Walsh's fitness last week, the Hoops stated that he was "continuing his rehabilitation from surgery", but no timescale has been put on when he will be able to return to action.

Jake Clarke-Salter - QPR

Defender Jake Clarke-Salter made just 14 appearances in all competitions during an injury-hit campaign for QPR last season, with the last of those coming all the way back in January.

Fears about a fresh injury setback for Clarke-Salter increased after he was substituted less than half an hour into a development squad game against Bournemouth earlier this week, but while it has been confirmed it was not due to a recurrence of a muscle injury, he will likely be absent for the trip to Derby.

Ziyad Larkeche - QPR

After returning from a loan spell with Scottish Premiership side Dundee, defender Ziyad Larkeche signed a new contract at QPR this summer, and he would have been hoping to make his mark this season.

However, Larkeche suffered an ACL injury in training in August that has required surgery, and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make his return for the Hoops before the end of the campaign.

Kwame Poku - QPR

QPR fought off competition from the likes of Birmingham City, Ipswich Town, Celtic and Rangers to sign Kwame Poku from Peterborough United this summer, with the Hoops reportedly paying a fee of £900,000 plus add-ons to secure his services.

Poku has been sidelined since picking up a hamstring injury in the draw against Preston North End on the opening day of the season, and while he scored for the development squad against Bournemouth on Monday as he continues his recovery, Stephan may be reluctant to risk him against Derby.