Queens Park Rangers will host West Bromwich Albion in the Championship. On Saturday afternoon, the R’s defeated Leicester City with a noteworthy outcome. The Baggies triumphed over Coventry City in a Midlands derby.
Preview (Queens Park Rangers vs. West Bromwich Albion)
With three straight victories at the end of February and the beginning of March, QPR has risen out of the Championship’s bottom three. The R’s are one of the few teams to defeat the Foxes this season. They earned a much-needed 2-1 victory at league leaders Leicester on the weekend. At the King Power Stadium in the East Midlands, goals from Irish striker Sinclair Armstrong and Illinois Chair either side of the half-time whistle gave QPR a startling two-goal lead. The hosts’ second-half counterattack through center-back Ben Nelson turned out to be a small consolation.
Marti Cifuentes’ team has soared out of the drop zone and into 19th place in the Championship standings after taking nine of the nine points that were available in the last three games. However, the West Londoners are only ahead of Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, and Stoke City on goal difference. Only 17 of the 38 Championship points earned by the R’s this season have come from home. Wednesday’s hosts won just four of their 17 games at their London base. The R’s have performed better away from Loftus Road this season than they have at home.
To increase their prospects of escaping relegation to third-tier football in May, Cifuentes’s team made a plethora of loan signings during the January transfer window. Players like Joe Hodge and Isaac Hayden joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United, respectively. Grady Diangana then doubled the hosts’ lead as he dazzled the Sky Blues’ defense with a magnificent finish.
Team News
Scotland international Lyon Dykes may not start for QPR on Wednesday night after being replaced by goalscorer Armstrong in the 55th minute at the King Power. In his 35-minute cameo in the East Midlands, Paul Smyth also had a significant impact. A start for the former Leyton Orient player would be appropriate here. After keeping one of the most formidable offenses in the division mostly quiet the previous game, QPR should proceed with a center-back duo of Jake Clarke-Salter and Steve Cook. Due to Darryl Dike’s Achilles injury, West Brom’s struggles in the striking area are impeding their efforts to advance. Dike will be out of action for the remainder of 2024.
Due to an ankle injury, Josh Maja is still in the Baggies medical room as well, but the visitors are optimistic that the attacker will be able to return to action this year. Since players like Fellows and Johnston have been performing well, John Swift has been limited to the bench in recent games. However, if Corberan decides to rotate his starting lineup, the former Reading playmaker should start on Wednesday.
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
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