Another shout for a penalty as Kane Wilson scoots past Albion skipper Kyle Bartley, bumps hips and and crashes to the ground in the box near the byline.

Referee Jarred Gillet waves the appeals away, however.

Set pieces could be key tonight, Derby are among the most potent in the Championship with a dozen goals from them this season, whereas the Baggies have only conceded once from a corner.

Curtis Nelson thinks Derby should have a penalty after his far-post header comes back off Torbjorn Heggem's arm, but nothing doing, he was looking the other way and he was in a natural position, as they say.

Eric Steele
Former Derby and Man Utd goalkeeper on BBC Radio Derby

There is a good tempo to this game so far.

Derby clear their lines well after Curtis Nelson had conceded a corner and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing nearly freed Kayden Jackson through the money.

Frantic start continues as Derby's Kane Wilson sees a 20-yard volley cannon behind off Mason Holgate as the Rams win a flurry of early corners too.

Good work from Albion keeper Alex Palmer who flies off his line to spread himself big and block Jerry Yates as he pokes a toe at a dangerous low cross from the flank.

The loose ball drops to Kayden Jackson but he opts to square rather than try a shot at the unguarded net and the Baggies defence are able to scramble behind.

Palmer has 11 clean sheets already this season and clearly wants to add to that...

Nice move from West Brom to spread play from left to right where Tom Fellows cuts inside onto his weaker left foot and flashes a powerful drive which flies high and wide of Jacob Widell Zetterstrom's far post.

Derby in their traditional black and white get us under way against West Brom, pretty in pink this evening...

Let's go...

Image source, PA Media

Big atmosphere under the lights at a rather murky but packed Pride Park... flags are flying, Santa hats remain in abundance... as do turkeys.

East Midlands against West Midlands, bottom eight against top eight, this is the dessert we deserve after the 3pm main course* on what's surely the best day in English football?

*Don't forget Stoke v Leeds later, that can be your cheese and crackers...

Kick-off at Derby is moments away...

• Derby County have lost one of their past six league games against West Bromwich Albion (W3 D2), a 2-0 away defeat in July 2020.
• West Brom have won one of their last 31 away league games against Derby, winning 1-0 in August 2003 under Gary Megson.
• Derby have never lost on Boxing Day against West Brom across three previous meetings (W1 D2), winning their only home game 1-0 in 1936 under George Jobey.
• West Bromwich Albion have won their last two Boxing Day matches, last winning four years in a row on 26 December between 1990 and 1994.
• Derby have won only five of their past 22 league games on Boxing Day (D7 L10), although they did win 1-0 against Wigan last year.

Paul Warne is no stranger to shuffling his pack, and he’s done so again, making two changes to the Rams XI which lost to two late goals at Luton.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing returns to the side and takes the captain’s armband while Marcus Harness is also handed a start.

Sonny Bradley drops to the bench with Warne opting against a back-three while Ben Osborn misses out after tweaking a glute muscle in training... ouch.

Coaches Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill are in interim charge of the Baggies, following Carlos Corberan’s Christmas Eve departure for Spain.

They haven’t tinkered much, making one change from the home win against Bristol City on Sunday, or a lifetime ago, for Albion fans.

Jayson Molumby drops to the bench with Uros Racic recalled in midfield.

This was supposed to be the meeting of two of the three longest serving Championship managers, alas, Valencia had other ideas.

Despite being the longest tenured boss in the second tier, Paul Warne has only been at the helm for two previous Boxing Days, having taken over in September 2022, 33 days before the now-departed Carlos Corberan was unveiled at The Hawthorns.

Warne has guided the Rams from League One into the second tier and they go into this game nine points and nine places behind the Baggies, who were beaten play-off semi-finalists last season.

They return to Pride Park where they thumped Portsmouth 4-0 in their last floodlit game and have scored in 28 straight league games.

The Pompey win was their first in five at home, however, but they do have a staggering record at home against the Baggies in the league – Albion’s 1-0 win in 2003 under Gary Megsion was their only league success at Derby in 31 visits – the previous one was 105 years ago this week.

West Brom were unbeaten in six away games prior to losing 2-1 at Watford, but they had taken 17 points from the 10 before that on their travels.

Image source, Rex Features

In case you missed it earlier, the news might have passed you by in the throes of last-minute wrapping just before midnight on Christmas Eve, but West Brom are no longer managed by Carlos Corberan.

Coaches Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill will take caretaker charge of the Baggies as they head to Pride Park this evening.

Corberan has returned to Spain to take on a relegation scrap in La Liga after struggling Valencia paid a release cause to free the 41-year-old. from his Hawthorns contract.

The decision was "the hardest of my life", according to Corberan.

Everything you need to know about the move is here.

Derby County head coach Paul Warne gave his side Christmas Day off on one proviso - they send him a video of themselves running before midday.

Ahead of the game with West Brom, Warne said he trusted his players would not lose their discipline following their last-gasp defeat by Luton Town on Friday.

"They all have to do a run on Christmas Day," Warne told BBC Radio Derby.

"They have to video themselves on one part of it wishing everyone else a Merry Christmas - so, there will be like 25 videos flying into the WhatsApp group before midday.

"That's the only thing I expect from them and then I expect them to enjoy their day with their families.

"I think everyone's got a little bit more energy because you don't always eat a sausage wrapped in bacon but on Christmas Day it is very hard to turn it down, so I'm expecting a very energetic performance from the team."

Plymouth Argyle remain rooted to the bottom of the Championship after they were thrashed 4-0 at Coventry.

Oxford United climbed out of the drop zone with a 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Cardiff, while Hull City and Portsmouth also suffered defeats.

Preston climb four places to 15th, but Derby could go back above them with a win over West Brom.

Build-up to the game at Pride Park coming right up...

A huge win for Burnley at leaders Sheffield United sees them close the gap to just a point.

Watford's late winner helps them climb above Middlesbrough into the play-off spots, while Swansea's comfortable victory lifts them back into the top 10.

Blackburn and Sunderland's entertaining draw means they stay fourth and fifth respectively.

Leeds United can go top on goal difference if they win at Stoke tonight.

Happy with how your team got on?

Phew. What a couple of hours that was.

Watford's Kwadwo Baah has been shown a red card after the final whistle at Vicarage Road.

It all spilled over at full-time and the Hornets man goaded both the Portsmouth players and supporters, prompting the ref to punish him.

Image source, Getty Images

If you were after goals, the Riverside served up the game of the day in the second tier.

A furious 14-minute comeback saw the Owls come back from 3-0 down at the break to draw level just after the hour.

Boro also had Rav van den Berg sent off, but hold on for a point as Danny Rohl's side continue their impressive away form.