Queens Park Rangers face Stoke City on Saturday afternoon knowing that they realistically require all three points if they are to remain competitive in the Championship playoff race.
The Potters have long been out of the fight for the top six, but the home side have bounced back recently with four victories from six matches.
Match preview
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Such has been the level of QPR's drop off in form that it at one stage looked inevitable that Mark Warburton would be removed from his position in the dugout.
However, on the back of seven defeats in eight fixtures, the Hoops have responded with four points from games against Huddersfield Town and Derby County.
Capitalising on the inconsistencies of the teams above them, QPR are back to within three points of the top six with sixth-placed Sheffield United still to come at the Kiyan Prince Stadium.
The London outfit can be regarded as no more than outsiders to finish inside the playoffs, but that particular fixture has the potential to be pivotal, providing that QPR can overcome Stoke at the weekend.
Luke Amos has chipped in with two goals in succession, taking him to six strikes for the campaign, although Warburton would much prefer to see one of his forward line end their drought from open play.
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As far as Stoke are concerned, they will be bitterly disappointed with how their season has panned out, the club down in 14th spot when they would have expected to be in the middle of the promotion mix.
There is the realistic possibility that the club's hierarchy have already decided to make a change in the dugout during the summer, but Michael O'Neill's team have emerged as one of the form sides in the division over the past six games.
A total of 12 points have been accumulated during that period, the most recent of four victories coming at Blackburn Rovers by a 1-0 scoreline on Easter Monday.
Jacob Brown's early goal at Ewood Park took him to 12 strikes for the campaign, but only one other player in this squad - Lewis Baker with eight - has contributed more than five goals.
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Team News
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Barring any injury issues, O'Neill could stick with the Stoke side which recorded a much-needed victory at Blackburn.
Ben Wilmot impressed on his return to the back three and will retain his place, while Josh Maja seemingly did enough to keep his spot in the attack alongside Brown.
Mario Vrancic is an option in midfield ahead of Romaine Sawyers if O'Neill wants to introduce a fresh face.
Having made the decision to switch from his trademark back three, Warburton will likely stick with the 4-2-2-2 which was on show versus Derby.
However, Moses Odubajo faces missing out with a calf injury and could be replaced by Osman Kakay, with Charlie Austin in line for a potential recall in the final third.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bonham; Wilmot, Jagielka, Harwood-Bellis; Smith, Baker, Allen, Sawyers, Tymon; Maja, Brown
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Westwood; Kakay, Sanderson, Dunne, McCallum; Dozzell, Field; Amos, Chair; Thomas, Dykes
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
While QPR will not necessarily go gung-ho into this fixture, Warburton is aware that a front-foot performance is required. However, despite their average home record, Stoke have the quality to more than match their opponents, leading us to predict a competitive share of the spoils.
Top tip
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 Stoke City win with a probability of 45.56%. A win for Queens Park Rangers had a probability of 27.93% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.99%) and 2-0 (8.49%). The likeliest Queens Park Rangers win was 0-1 (8.79%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.56%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Stoke City in this match.
