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Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs. Leeds United

Sports Mole previews Saturday's early Championship kickoff as Queens Park Rangers host Leeds at Loftus Road.

Queens Park Rangers will look to get their automatic promotion bid back on track when they host Leeds United at Loftus Road on Saturday.

Harry Redknapp's side have suffered three straight defeats and only picked up a single point in February, leaving them seven points behind second-placed Burnley.

In-form Derby County also moved above the R's during their poor spell, so they now sit down in fourth in the Championship table, although they do have a game in hand over the three teams above them.

Their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Reading last Sunday was their first home league defeat in five matches and just their second of the entire season, with only leaders Leicester City having amassed more points in front of their own fans.

However, they have now conceded six goals in their last two home encounters having only let in six in their 15 home league matches prior to that.

They do still boast the league's stingiest defence, although their tally of 25 goals conceded is now just one better than Burnley.

Goalscoring has been a consistent worry for the Hoops this season and only two teams outside the bottom five of the table have found the net fewer times than them in the current campaign.

The hosts will have loanee Ravel Morrison available once again for the match, but defender Max Ehmer has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury while Joey Barton is suspended.

Leeds, meanwhile, still have faint aspirations of making a late charge for the playoffs this season, and victory on Saturday would be a massive boost to their chances.

They are currently down in 11th place, seven points behind sixth-placed Reading, but they have a game in hand over the Royals and could move as high as eighth should results go their way this weekend.

Brian McDermott's side have turned things around in recent weeks with just one defeat in their last five outings following a run of five straight losses in all competitions.

Their away record will still be a worry, however, as they have only scored in one of their last five matches on the road and picked up a solitary victory in their last seven.

The Whites will be boosted by the loan signings of Jack Butland, who made an impressive debut in the goalless draw against Middlesbrough, and Connor Wickham, who joined from Sunderland earlier this week.

Wickham is likely to slot straight into the team alongside Ross McCormack, who is the league's leading scorer with 22 goals.

Recent form

QPR: WWDLLL

Leeds: LDWWLD

Possible starting lineups

QPR: Green; Onuoha, Dunne, Hill, Traore; Hughes, Jenas, Morrison, Carroll; Doyle, Hoilett

Leeds: Butland; Wootton, Pearce, Peltier, Warnock; Kebe, Austin, Murphy, Stewart, Wickham; McCormack

Sports Mole says: 1-0


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Brian McDermott. manager of Leeds United looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United at Hillsborough Stadium on January 11, 2014
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1711422491535
2Burnley179622161533
3Sunderland1796226121433
4Leeds UnitedLeeds1695228121632
5Watford179262624229
6Middlesbrough1683529191027
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom176921811727
8Millwall166641914524
9Norwich CityNorwich175753125622
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
11Bristol City175752021-122
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds176472026-622
13Stoke CityStoke175661920-121
14Derby CountyDerby165562020020
15Swansea CitySwansea165471414019
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry174582225-317
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd174581927-817
19Preston North EndPreston173861624-817
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth174581834-1617
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City173681623-715
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


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