Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will make his Queens Park Rangers managerial bow this weekend when his new side welcome Burnley to Loftus Road.
The Dutchman ended long-running speculation over his future by leaving his role as Burton Albion boss last week, with this weekend's clash providing a difficult opening assignment in West London.
Queens Park Rangers
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A little over 12 hours after beating Reading at the Madejski Stadium last week in a dramatic manner, QPR finally announced Hasselbaink as their new manager on a rolling contract.
The victory in Berkshire was far from a classic, but the Hoops managed to put enough pressure on their opponents late on to pick up three vital points in their pursuit of a top-six place.
From potentially looking over their shoulders to eyeing up a playoff berth, it has been a good couple of weeks for the Rs who are now finally back on the right track following last season's relegation.
Neil Warnock deserves a slice of credit for steadying the ship, coming in to replace Chris Ramsey in difficult circumstances but signing off from his interim spell by claiming two wins on the bounce.
QPR are now within three points of their intended target, which is a nice platform for Hasselbaink to build on in his third managerial job to date.
Burton gave the ex-Chelsea striker his chance to shine in the dugout on British shores, with the 43-year-old taking the Brewers from League Two to the top of League One during his 13-month spell at the Pirelli Stadium, though he will now be looking to take another big step in his own career path.
Hasselbaink has certainly been thrown in at the deep end, though, as the West London outfit face Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion - two teams backed for automatic promotion - in their next two games.
One thing the new manager must work on is his side's sluggish starts to games, having scored 17 of their goals so far this campaign in the second half of matches, while their last first-half strike on home soil came at the start of October.
Recent form in Championship: LLDLWW
Burnley
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The Championship may be renowned for its unpredictability on a game-by-game basis, but at one stage this season the gap between the division's top five sides continued to grow.
While others around them were slipping up, the second-tier heavyweights were picking up points to open up a league within a league to battle it out for the two automatic spots.
That may still be the case to an extent, with five points between Burnley in fifth and next-best placed side Cardiff City, yet a failure to pick up a win over the past month has seen the Clarets stagnate slightly.
Not since November 3, when seeing off Fulham 3-1 at Turf Moor, have Burnley claimed maximum points in a league game.
That is four matches without victory, including a hugely disappointing 2-0 loss to Lancashire rivals Preston North End on home soil last time out.
Manager Sean Dyche put that derby defeat down to a failure to make the most of what he described as his side's best first-half showing of the season, having seen the gap on the chasing pack close up a little more.
Burnley have now also conceded two goals in each of their last two games, as defeat to Preston came just seven days after they found themselves two behind at Cardiff City, before eventually claiming a dramatic 2-2 draw in South Wales against the odds.
Dyche's charges have now not conceded more than twice in any of their last 16 away games, while the character shown to rescue a point at Cardiff should not come as a great surprise; no side have scored a higher percentage of their goals in the final 15 minutes of games this term than the Clarets.
Recent form in Championship: WWDDDL
Team News
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Charlie Austin, whose future continues to remain up in the air ahead of the January transfer window, is in line for a runout against his former side.
The prolific striker scored in both fixtures between the pair last season and, having made two substitute appearances since recovering from a calf injury, he could now be handed a start.
Clint Hill will be absent with a knee injury, however, while Jamie Mackie continues to miss out due to a hamstring problem.
Another player likely to face off against his former employers is Joey Barton, who will take his place in the Burnley midfield at Loftus Road just seven months after being released by the Rs.
Sam Vokes returned from injury last time out and may be fit enough to start again, but Ashley Barnes and Lukas Jutkiewicz will remain on the sidelines for the trip to West London.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Green; Perch, Hall, Onuoha, Konchesky; Faurlin, Sandro; Phillips, Fer, Hoilett; Austin
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Darikwa, Keane, Duff, Mee; Arfield, Barton, Jones, Boyd; Vokes, Gray
Head To Head
As well as scoring in both fixtures in 2014-15, Austin was also shown a red card soon after netting late on at Loftus Road.
Burnley have lost just one their last nine games against QPR, winning five and drawing three during that run.
The two sides have met on 39 occasions overall, with the Hoops coming out on top 21 times compared to their opponents' 11 victories.
We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-2 Burnley
Burnley may not be on the finest run of form at the moment, but defeat to Preston was their first in 10 outings. The Clarets have certainly proved tough to beat this term, though they will face a QPR side rejuvenated over the past fortnight which should provide an entertaining spectacle.
Daniel Lewis
