Derby County's fixture list for the upcoming 2024/25 Sky Bet Championship campaign was revealed on Wednesday morning.
A Friday evening trip to Blackburn Rovers kicks things off on Friday 9th August (8pm kick-off), whilst a home clash with Stoke City at Pride Park Stadium on Saturday 3rd May will bring the season to a close.
However, between all of that is a whole lot more for the Rams in their first season back in the second tier under Head Coach Paul Warne after earning promotion from League One back in April.
Here,dcfc.co.uk has taken a look at the main talking points following the release of the 2024/25 fixtures.
The Start...
A televised Friday night trip to Blackburn Rovers kicks things off, the first opening day fixture on the road for the Rams since a 2-1 victory at Huddersfield Town in 2019.
Round One of the Carabao Cup will take place the following week before Paul Warne's side first match back on home soil will see them welcome Middlesbrough to Pride Park on Saturday 17th August.
A trip south to Watford follows that on Saturday 24th August before Round Two of the Carabao Cup is scheduled for the following midweek, should Derby progress.
The opening month of the season back in the second tier will see the Rams welcome a few familiar faces back to Pride Park Stadium, in the form of Max Bird, Jason Knight and Haydon Roberts, as Bristol City are the visitors to round off the opening period on Saturday 31st August.
What's New?
In literal terms there is plenty new for Derby whom will face 21 different teams in league action to what they did in 2023/24.
Only Portsmouth and Oxford United, who both achieved promotion alongside the Rams, will remain repeat league fixtures from last season.
However, there are plenty of familiar foes that side the will come up against.
The Rams will reignite rivalries with 2022/23 promotion rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle whilst horns will be locked with a number of familiar faces such as Leeds United, Sheffield United and Cardiff City across the campaign.
What's The Festive Period Look Like?
Whilst it's always a busy period, the festive calendar is looking relatively kind to the Rams in terms of travel.
The final fixture before Christmas will see the side travel to Luton Town on Saturday 21st December, whilst everyone's favourite Boxing Day fixture will be played at Pride Park Stadium against West Bromwich Albion.
Derby remain at home three days later when they welcome Leeds United to Derbyshire on Sunday 29th December before we make the short trip to Yorkshire to take on Sheffield Wednesday on New Year's Day at Hillsborough.
The festive period rounds off with a trip to Bristol City on Saturday 4th January.
When Are Our Midweek Fixtures?
Disregarding those that take place across the festive period, there are eight midweek fixtures for Rams fans to make note of, none of which are more notable than the first.
Derby will make the long trip to Sunderland on Tuesday 1st October with the reverse fixture also taking place midweek on Tuesday 21st January.
In fact, every midweek opponent will be played in midweek both home and away in 2024/25.
The side will travel to Oxford United, where Derby stormed back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 on their way to promotion, on Tuesday 22nd October with the reverse fixture at Pride Park being played on Tuesday 11th February.
Coventry City will also be a midweek opponent and again the trip will be made there first on Wednesday 6th November with the reverse in Derbyshire to take place on Tuesday 11th March.
Finally, recently relegated Premier League side Burnley will host the Rams on Tuesday 10th December before they make the trip to Pride Park on Wednesday 9th April.
The Run-In...
The run-in proved to be incredibly important for the Rams as they achieved promotion from League One in 2023/24 and it could well prove pivotal again here.
There are seven fixtures to pack in between 5th April and 3rd May when the season draws to a close - and it starts with a trip to Swansea City.
The final midweek fixture of the campaign comes after that when Burnley come to Pride Park before a long trip to Portsmouth on Saturday 12th April follows.
The Easter period is looking tough as recently relegated Luton Town come to Pride Park on Good Friday (18th April) before the Rams travel to West Bromwich Albion on Easter Monday (21st April).
A trip to Hull City is the final away fixture of the campaign on Saturday 26th April before the season rounds off with a home clash against Stoke City on Saturday 3rd May.
