QPR welcome Burnley to Loftus Road in a huge Sky Bet Championship clash in the race for promotion.
Victory would see QPR climb to fifth in the table, whilst Burnley can re-open a three-point lead over Sheffield United at the summit with a win.
Team News
Stefan Johansen is set to return for QPR after he recovered from an ankle injury during the international break.
Luke Amos, Leon Balogun, Rob Dickie and Chris Willock are also set to be in contention after the quartet all sat out a friendly against Livingston.
Ilias Chair is ruled out due to continued international duty for Morocco who recently beat Portugal to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
Burnley will have Ashley Westwood (ankle), Scott Twine (hip) and Darko Churlinov (unspecified) all back in contention for selection.
Anass Zaroury remains absent due to international duty for Morocco.
Stat Attack
- QPR have won just one of their last 11 league meetings against Burnley (W1, D4, L6), which came in a 2-0 home win in December 2014 in the Premier League.
- Burnley have avoided defeat in five of their last six away trips to QPR (W2, D3, L1).
- QPR have failed to score in each of their last two meetings against Burnley (D1, L1), having drawn 0-0 at home in December 2015 then lost 1-0 at Turf Moor in May 2016.
- Ilias Chair has been involved in nine goals for QPR this season, in which he scored three goals and provided six assists but is absent due to international duty.
- Burnley have conceded eight goals in their last three away matches (W1, D1, L1), during which they scored seven goals.
Prediction
Having failed to win any of their last five games during which they scored just one goal, QPR now have had a chance to reset with recoveries of injured players, which should hopefully mean that we will see them looking for victory here to reignite a promotion challenge.
Michael Beale’s unexpected departure for Rangers will also only serve to further unite this squad who are capable of quality football when have their key players available, yet Chair’s absence will be felt in an attacking sense.
Burnley meanwhile have set the pace this season despite their slow start but their defence does still seem there for the taking, as evidenced by just one clean sheet in their last nine away matches in this league but they do have a full squad now available minus Zaroury who will be a tactical loss.
This fixture though has belonged to Burnley in recent meetings and unless QPR play at their best, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Clarets have the edge such is their depth and quality plus excellent form.
Prediction: QPR 1-2 Burnley
Result: QPR 0-3 Burnley
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