Championship playoff contenders Queens Park Rangers will hope to arrest their slump in form when they host Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.
Rangers are currently fifth in the table with a three-point gap to seventh place, while the Bluebirds are targeting a strong end to the campaign and sit 18th.
Match preview
© Reuters
QPR lost 1-0 to fellow promotion hopefuls Blackburn Rovers last weekend, with Mark Warburton taking the blame for not freshening up his team.
It is now just one win in six matches for the West London side, whose hopes of breaking into the top two are now all but gone.
The Hoops travel to fellow playoff contenders Luton Town and Nottingham Forest over the next two weeks, so a win this weekend would be a crucial platform to build on.
Warburton's side are unbeaten in seven matches at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in all competitions and are the third-highest scorers in the Championship this season.
However, they have conceded the most goals in the top half of the division, shipping 39 in 34 matches.
© Reuters
Entertainment could be high in this game then, as Cardiff are the third-highest scorers away from home in the Championship but they also have the third-worst defence on the road. The Bluebirds have recorded just one win in eight away matches in all competitions.
Substitute Uche Ikpeazu scored an 85th-minute winner to beat Derby County 1-0 on Tuesday night and secure Cardiff's first win four games.
It was announced after the win that manager Steve Morison had signed a contract extension until the summer of 2023, a reward for dragging the Bluebirds away from relegation danger.
The Welsh side have lost their last four matches against QPR, with Andre Gray scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory for the Hoops in this season's reverse fixture.
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng was forced off with a muscle injury at half time against Blackburn last weekend, meaning that David Marshall will start between the sticks.
Centre-back Dion Sanderson, who spent time on loan at Cardiff in the 2019-20 season, remains suspended for a red card that he received against Blackpool.
Mark Warburton hopes to have Lyndon Dykes and Lee Wallace available for selection after recent injuries.
Uche Ikpeazu will continue to push for his first Cardiff start after scoring three goals in six substitute appearances since signing on loan in January.
Max Watters remains out for the Bluebirds after rolling his ankle in training, while Curtis Nelson is also absent with a calf injury.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Dickie, Barbet, Dunne; Odubajo, Field, Hendrick, McCallum; Johansen, Chair; Willock
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Drameh, Ng, Flint, McGuinness, Bagan; Doyle, Wintle, Ralls; Hugill, Ikpeazu
We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Cardiff City
We think that a full week on the training ground will have helped QPR and we are backing the Hoops to return to winning ways on home turf. Cardiff are steadily improving under Morison but might not have quite enough to get anything here.
Top tip
Olly Allen
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Queens Park Rangers win with a probability of 52.65%. A draw had a probability of 24.3% and a win for Cardiff City had a probability of 23.04%.
The most likely scoreline for a Queens Park Rangers win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.66%) and 2-0 (9.49%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.56%), while for a Cardiff City win it was 0-1 (6.92%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.9% likelihood.
