Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Queens Park Rangers and Swansea City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Queens Park Rangers host Swansea City on Boxing Day with the London side hoping to end a seven-game winless run.

Mark Warburton's men last picked up three points towards the end of November, and they will be desperate to halt their decline towards the relegation places over the festive period.

Match preview

Queens Park Rangers' QPR's Ilias Chair celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates against Watford on November 21, 2020 © Reuters

The Hoops have struggled to pick up any sort of momentum this season, recording back-to-back victories on just one occasion.

Consecutive draws in their last two outings have helped to steady the ship at Loftus Road after three defeats in a row at the end of November and start of December threatened to drag them deep into the relegation mix.

After a mid-table finish in 2019-20, many QPR supporters had hoped this season would see the side build on the solid foundations Warburton had put down.

However, the capital club has struggled without their former talisman Eberechi Eze and staying up appears to be the objective this time around.

Swansea are currently sitting in third position in the Championship table, just two points behind Bournemouth, who occupy the final automatic promotion place.

Steve Cooper's side have built their success on a solid base. The Swans have conceded just 12 goals in their 20 league games this season, meaning they have the tightest defence in the division.

They are yet to perfect the balance throughout the side, though, with their 23 efforts the joint-second lowest total in the top half of the table, but experienced forward Andre Ayew is enjoying his third spell with the club.

Seven goals and two assists for the Ghana international is an impressive return, and the 31-year-old will be hoping he can fire Swansea back to the Premier League.

Queens Park Rangers Championship form: LLDLDD

Swansea City Championship form: LWDWLW

Team News

Swansea City's Andre Ayew celebrates scoring against Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship on November 25, 2020 © Reuters

Defensive midfield pair Luke Amos and Charlie Owens remain sidelined with their cruciate ligament and knee injuries, respectively.

QPR have struggled for goals of late, and summer signing Lyndon Dykes could be sacrificed to make room for Macauley Bonne up-front after the Scotsman's six-game goalless run.

Midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is a long-term absentee for Cooper's men after the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee broke his foot back in October.

Experienced full-back Kyle Naughton is suspended, so youngster Marc Guehi is expected to maintain his place in the starting lineup in his absence.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Kane, Dickie, Barbet, Hamalainen; Cameron, Willock; Samuel, Chair, Adomah; Bonne

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Cabango, Bennett, Guehi; Roberts, Smith, Fulton, Bidwell; Dhanda; Ayew, Cullen

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We say: Queens Park Rangers 0-2 Swansea City

Swansea are in good form, pushing for promotion back to the Premier League, while QPR are currently looking nervously over their shoulder.

The Hoops struggle to score goals and are facing the best defence in the division. It is hard to see them finding a way past Freddie Woodman, and the Swans should secure the win.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Swansea City win with a probability of 40.71%. A win for Queens Park Rangers had a probability of 32.86% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.43%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.62%) and 0-2 (7.16%). The likeliest Queens Park Rangers win was 1-0 (9.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.57%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Swansea City would win this match.