Queens Park Rangers play host to Stoke City on Saturday afternoon sitting five points adrift of safety in the Championship table.
Meanwhile, the Potters make the trip to Loftus Road having put together a three-match undefeated streak, helping them sit in 13th place.
Match preview
© Imago
Although Marti Cifuentes has plenty of credit in the bank from last season, the Spaniard will know that he may only be one or two more defeats from the sack.
QPR are now on an 11-match winless streak in the second tier, leaving them bottom and five points adrift of moving out of immediate trouble.
Successive goalless draws against Burnley and Sunderland are likely to have convinced the powers-that-be to hand Cifuentes more time, yet six goals have since been conceded against Middlesbrough and Leeds United.
Given the profile of their recent opponents, some context is required when casting judgment on QPR's current situation, but they can ill-afford to lose further ground on the teams above them.
Just four points have been accumulated from their eight fixtures at Loftus Road, QPR failing to score more than once in each of those encounters.
As for Stoke, Narcis Pelach will feel that his players are finally settling into his style of play after a rocky start to life at the bet365 Stadium.
The Potters have lost just one of their last eight matches, that solitary defeat coming at Sheffield United, with seven points being collected from their last three outings.
Victories were posted over Derby County and Blackburn Rovers before Pelach's side were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Millwall, frustration coming from not being awarded what appeared to be a clear penalty in the second half.
While Stoke have netted just three goals in seven away league fixtures during 2024-25, two of them came in a 2-0 triumph at Blackburn in their most recent such contest.
Team News
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Harrison Ashby and Liam Morrison have returned to training after their respective injury issues and should be available for selection.
The trio of Kenneth Paal, Morgan Fox and Joe Walsh are also in line to feature, albeit it unclear whether they will be used from the start.
Stoke boss Pelach will be forced into making at least one change with Wouter Berger serving a one-match ban.
Jordan Thompson is in line to return to the midfield as a straight replacement in what could be the only change.
Lewis Koumas remains an option to replace Million Manhoef in the final third.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Cook, Field; Ashby, Morgan, Varane, Saito; Smyth, Celar, Andersen
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Tchamadeu, Phillips, Gibson, Bocat; Seko, Thompson; Manhoef, Moran, Bae; Cannon
We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Stoke City
Cifuentes will be hoping that the international break came at the right time for his players to return with a different mindset. However, Stoke may have also benefitted from extra time on the training pitch, leaving us to predict a hard-earned victory for the Potters.
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