The weekend’s Championship fixtures begin with Brentford’s trip to Loftus Road to face a QPR side with injury worries.
Queens Park Rangers welcome Dean Smith’s Brentford to Lofus Road on Friday night, as these two equally matched teams go head-to-head in this Championship London derby.
Brentford and QPR currently have identical league records after 14 games (five wins, four draws, five defeats), with both teams on 19 points. Brentford find themselves in 11th position, two above QPR by virtue of The Bees’ superior goal difference.
In an attempt to move above tonight’s opponents, QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be without injured defenders Joel Lynch, Jake Bidwell, and Grant Hall – as the trio join midfielder Jordan Cousins and forward Jamie Mackie in the Loftus Road treatment room.
Squad fitness aside, form and recent history appears to be in Hasselbaink’s favour. QPR are unbeaten in their last five league matches against Brentford – whose last league victory away to QPR was way back in 1965 – and have seven points from their last four games. Conversely, Brentford are winless in their last four, with only two points from a possible 12 on offer.
QPR are likely to retain the same defensive line-up that faced Sheffield Wednesday in their previous game – meaning that goalkeeper Alex Smithies starts behind a back four of right-back James Perch, left-back Niko Hamalainen and a central defensive partnership of captain Nedum Onouha and Steven Caulker.
In midfield, tackling ace Massimo Luongo and Poland international Ariel Borysiuk are expected to be deployed as the protective shield behind the more forward-thinking Tjaronn Cherry.
QPR’s front line is likely to be focused around centre-forward Idrissa Sylla, who has scored three goals in his eight Championship outings for the R’s, with support from Conor Washington and loanee Paweł Wszołek.
Here is the predicted QPR XI in full:
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