Looking to record their maiden home success of the season, strugglers Queens Park Rangers will welcome Stoke City to MATRADE Loftus Road on Tuesday night in the Championship.
The R's have failed to improve their form following the sacking of Gareth Ainsworth in late October, while the Potters are finding it difficult to escape the mediocrity of mid-table.
Match preview
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Queens Park Rangers suffered their first defeat of the Marti Cifuentes era on Saturday afternoon at Carrow Road, extending the club's winless run to 12 matches in the Championship, with their last maximum coming at the Riverside Stadium against Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough on September 2.
Since that two-goal victory on Teesside, the R's have parted company with Wycombe Wanderers legend Ainsworth and handed 41-year-old Cifuentes a place in the managerial hotseat in West London, with the task of ensuring the club's nine-year spell in the second tier does not come to a sour end in May.
Unlike a team fighting for their lives at the bottom of the division, QPR travelled to East Anglia and dominated possession against David Wagner's men, but a first-half strike from Ui-Jo Hwang - coupled with some undesirable finishing in the latter stages by Sam Field - resulted in the visitors' 11th loss of the season.
With three of their next four Championship matches being at Loftus Road, the R's will make it a matter of urgency to improve their abysmal home form, as the West Londoners are the only side in the division who are yet to win in front of their home faithful, collecting just two points from seven contests.
Undoubtedly-talented players such as Ilias Chair and Chris Willock who used to amaze are beginning to irritate supporters with their lack of end product, and considering that full-back Kenneth Paal is leading the club's Golden Boot race with three goals, it is understandable why fans want attacking reinforcements in the New Year.
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Stoke City endured their heaviest defeat of the campaign to date on Saturday afternoon, as Blackburn Rovers visited the bet365 Stadium and scored three goals, with Scott Wharton, Andy Moran and the second tier's leading marksman Sammie Szmodics making the net ripple in Staffordshire.
The Rovers rout of the Potters was the first loss for Alex Neil's men since back-to-back defeats to promotion-chasing Southampton and league leaders Leicester City in early October, but Stoke's inability to find the net is starting to throw serious doubt over their chances of fighting for the playoffs.
The Potters have failed to score in their last three matches and their placement of trust into out-of-form striker Dwight Gayle is yet to pay dividends, with the forward - who scored 47 times in the division across two seasons at Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion - not managing to provide a goal contribution in eight league appearances so far.
The West Midlands side made a host of intriguing acquisitions in the summer as they aim to challenge at the top end of the table, but Stoke currently occupy 16th place in the Championship standings, seven points behind sixth-placed Preston North End but with a healthy nine-point buffer over Rotherham United in 22nd.
With QPR only managing a single victory at Loftus Road in over a year, it is unsurprising that Stoke collected a point in West London last year, but the R's won the most recent meeting between the two clubs, with Albert Adomah netting the only goal at the bet365 Stadium in April.
Team News
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QPR remain without the services of former Stoke defender Morgan Fox, with a knee injury - which is expected to keep the centre-back out until December - set to deny him the chance of facing his former employers.
Cifuentes could make some alterations to his forward line after they drew a blank at Carrow Road, meaning Sinclair Armstrong and Andre Dozzell may enter the XI at the expense of Lyndon Dykes and Willock.
Jake Clarke-Salter featured in a matchday squad for the first time in a month against Norwich on the weekend, and the ex-Chelsea man could replace Jimmy Dunne in the hosts' backline.
Stoke also have an absentee within their defensive ranks due to the knee injury of Ben Wilmot, but the centre-back partnership of Michael Rose and Luke McNally has performed well recently, keeping four clean sheets in five matches.
The Potters have an influential figure missing in their engine room, with Lewis Baker yet to play for the Staffordshire club in the 2023-24 season.
Andre Vidigal is currently the visitors' leading goalscorer with four strikes but did not feature against Rovers because of illness, but we fully expect the Portuguese to regain his starting berth at Loftus Road.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Kakay, Cook, Dunne, Paal; Dixon-Bonner, Field, Colback; Willock, Chair, Armstrong
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Hoever, Rose, McNally, Stevens; Pearson, Burger, Campbell, Johnson, Vidigal; Mmaee
We say: Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Stoke City
QPR need to start finishing their clear-cut chances in order to escape the bottom three of the Championship, and they could be able to catch Stoke cold on Tuesday night.
Despite failing to score in their last three matches, the Potters have plenty of options in attacking areas to freshen up the XI, and we can see them finding the net in West London.
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Top tip
Carter White
