West Bromwich Albion sit top of the Championship after six games, but the next 90 minutes will tell us considerably more than the previous five-and-a-bit. Queens Park Rangers arrive at The Hawthorns on Saturday (12:30) having lost only once this season, and that defeat came against Middlesbrough. This is not a flattering fixture on paper for either side; it is a genuine examination of two promotion contenders.

How West Brom got here

The story of Albion's turnaround is worth stating plainly. When James Morrison took interim charge at The Hawthorns in February, the club were second-bottom of the Championship. A 10-match unbeaten run in the closing stages of last season kept them up, and the momentum has not broken since. Six games into this campaign, they are top of the division and have now kept nine clean sheets in 18 league matches under Morrison.

Wednesday's 1-0 win at Derby, achieved with ten men for more than an hour, underlined the resilience Morrison has built into this squad. It was only the second time Albion had won at Pride Park in 107 years. Results like that are not flukes, but nor are they a guarantee of anything. A good run of four, five, or even ten games is exactly that: a run. The question is whether the foundations are deep enough to sustain a full Championship season.

Their opponents this weekend give us a partial answer. QPR, under Julien Stephan, have lost only once and sit two points behind Albion in a congested chasing pack. The Hoops took just 11 points from their final 13 matches of last season, losing eight of them to finish 15th, but a summer rebuild appears to have shifted their momentum significantly, even with injuries mounting. A win for either side would be a meaningful statement at this early stage.

Derby's pressure cooker

While Albion celebrate being top, Derby County are absorbing a very different kind of attention. John Eustace's side have lost four of their opening six Championship fixtures, with Wednesday's 1-0 home defeat to a ten-man West Brom the latest low point. The injury list has been cited as context, and a collapsed takeover on the eve of the campaign added unwanted turbulence. Those are real factors. They do not, however, change the number in the results column.

On Saturday, Eustace welcomes Birmingham City to Pride Park (12:30), a reunion with the club that sacked him controversially in October 2023 when he had guided them to sixth in the Championship. Eustace has earned considerable goodwill at Derby for steadying the ship last season and engineering a late run at the play-offs. That credit is not unlimited, and four defeats from six will erode it faster than almost anything else.

The Rams' supporters are restless, which is understandable. Six games is a small sample, and Eustace deserves the time to work through his squad problems. But the Championship punishes slow starters. The clubs who are still chasing points in April because of a difficult August rarely thank themselves for the patience they showed early on.

QPR's quiet credentials

It would be easy to frame Saturday's game at The Hawthorns entirely around Albion. QPR's own story deserves more credit. Only one defeat all season, that loss to Middlesbrough aside, represents genuine early-season form. Stephan's overhaul of the squad has addressed the structural problems that saw the Hoops capitulate so badly in the final stretch of last season.

A mounting injury list is a concern, and the fixture at The Hawthorns is about as hard as it gets for a side trying to prove their credentials. But QPR travelling to the league leaders and treating it as a winnable game is itself a measure of how far they have come since May.

What the table actually says

Six games in, the Championship table rewards caution in its reading. West Brom are top and playing with a belief that was unimaginable in February. Derby are in the bottom half with an injury list and a difficult run behind them. QPR are quietly building something worth watching. And Middlesbrough, who have already beaten the Hoops this term, continue to lurk in a division where the gap between the automatic places and mid-table has rarely felt smaller.

The next few weeks will matter far more than the last six. Momentum in this division is real, but it is also fragile. West Brom know that better than most.

Frequently asked

Are West Brom top of the Championship?
Yes. West Brom lead the Championship after six games, following a 10-match unbeaten run to end last season and a strong start to this campaign under James Morrison.
When do QPR play West Brom this season?
QPR travel to The Hawthorns on Saturday with a 12:30 kick-off. It is one of the standout Championship fixtures of the weekend, with both clubs losing only once so far this season.
How many games has Derby County lost this season?
Derby have lost four of their opening six Championship fixtures, leaving John Eustace under growing pressure ahead of Saturday's home game against Birmingham City.