Aiming to make it four-straight wins in the league, relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers will welcome playoff hopefuls West Bromwich Albion to Loftus Road on Wednesday night in the Championship.
The R's ground out a standout result at Leicester City on Saturday afternoon, whilst the Baggies were victorious in a Midlands derby versus Coventry City.
Match preview
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QPR have boosted themselves out of the bottom three in the Championship by winning three-straight matches across the end of February and the beginning of March, earning a much-needed 2-1 win at league leaders Leicester on the weekend, with the R's one of few sides to best the Foxes this term.
Goals either side of the half-time whistle from Ilias Chair and Irish striker Sinclair Armstrong allowed QPR into a shock two-goal advantage at the King Power Stadium in the East Midlands, and a second-half counter from centre-back Ben Nelson proved to be a mere consolation for the hosts.
After collecting nine points from an available nine in the past three contests, Marti Cifuentes's side have rocketed out of the drop zone and into 19th place in the Championship standings, although the West Londoners are only out of trouble on goal difference ahead of Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City.
The R's have actually fared better on their second-tier travels than in front of the Loftus Road crowd this season, with only 17 of their 38 Championship points arriving at home, with Wednesday's hosts winning only four of 17 matches at their London base in the 2023-24 campaign.
Cifuentes's men made a raft of loan signings during the January transfer window to boost their chances of avoiding the drop to third-tier football in May, with the likes of Joe Hodge and Isaac Hayden joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United respectively.
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Following the 2-0 defeat at home to Russell Martin's Southampton on February 16, West Brom have managed to get their top-six hopes back on track with seven points from their last three Championship games, including a memorable success over Midlands counterparts Coventry on Friday night.
Netting a third goal from his third shot on target for the Baggies since joining on loan from Celtic in January, Mikey Johnston dazzled the Sky Blues backline and produced a sublime finish to hand his side the lead last time out, before Grady Diangana was in the right place to double the hosts' advantage.
Mark Robins's men made alterations at the half-time break and managed to pull a goal back via the foot of Haji Wright from the penalty spot, but Albion were able to hold on following a nervy finish for all three points - their 12th win in 18 second-tier matches at The Hawthorns this term.
Although not breaching the net of Ben Wilson himself on Friday night, academy graduate Tom Fellows provided the ammunition for Diangana's goal with a pinpoint cross from the right flank, and the 20-year-old continues to enjoy a breakthrough season in Carlos Corberan's ranks.
With new owner Shilen Patel set to be in attendance at Loftus Road on Wednesday night, West Brom would probably take another narrow victory like during their last visit to face QPR in November 2022, when a second-half Kyle Bartley strike was enough to hand the visitors three points.
Team News
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After being replaced by goalscorer Armstrong in the 55th minute at the King Power, Scotland international Lyndon Dykes could lose his spot in the QPR XI on Wednesday night.
Paul Smyth also made a telling contribution during his 35-minute cameo in the East Midlands, and the former Leyton Orient man could be rewarded with a start here.
Keeping one of the division's most-potent attacks relatively quiet last time out, QPR should continue with a centre-back pairing of Jake Clarke-Salter and Steve Cook.
West Brom's issues in the striking department continue to hamper their promotion push, with Daryl Dike sidelined for the rest of 2024 due to an Achilles injury.
Josh Maja also remains in the Baggies medical room due to an ankle injury, although the visitors are hopeful that the forward can feature again this season.
John Swift has been constrained to a spot on the bench in recent matches as the likes of Fellows and Johnston shine, but the ex-Reading playmaker should enter the XI on Wednesday if Corberan opts to freshen up his side.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Dunne, Cook, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Hayden, Field, Willock, Andersen, Chair; Armstrong
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Pieters, Townsend; Yokuslu, Mowatt, Fellows, Johnston, Swift; Wallace
We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
QPR are coming off the back of a victory over the league leaders, so they should be confident of picking up another positive result on Wednesday night.
West Brom have struggled on the road at times over recent seasons, but we reckon that they will be good enough for a share of the spoils at Loftus Road.
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Carter White
