Two sides seeking to bounce back from disappointing league defeats at the weekend prepare for battle in round three of the EFL Cup as Queens Park Rangers welcome Everton to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Tuesday night.
Mark Warburton's men went down 2-1 to Bristol City at the weekend, whereas the Toffees suffered their first defeat of the Rafael Benitez era in humbling fashion at Aston Villa.
Match preview
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An ideal start to the new Championship campaign - in which they navigated their first six games unbeaten - saw QPR pick up where they left off last term, but Warburton's side now head into their EFL Cup third-round clash on the back of successive defeats in the second tier.
After being sunk 2-1 by table-toppers Bournemouth in midweek, Warburton's outfit suffered a rather disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Bristol City, with Chris Martin and Sam McCallum's strikes seemingly setting up a 1-1 stalemate before Nakhi Wells won it for the Robins in the dying embers.
While going down in that fashion was a bitter pill for QPR to swallow, Warburton's side can take solace in the fact that they scored at least two goals for the eighth game in a row across all competitions, with their tally of 16 Championship strikes this season second only to Fulham.
The second-tier hosts had to rely on a penalty shootout against Leyton Orient to confirm their place in round two of the EFL Cup, where they would enjoy a far more comprehensive 2-0 success over Oxford United to advance to the third round and set up a tasty encounter with Everton.
However, the Rs have not advanced past the third round of the EFL Cup since the 2008-09 campaign, where they were knocked out by Manchester United in the last-16, and a weekend trip to West Bromwich Albion in the league will certainly be taken into account as well.
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The Rafael Benitez revolution at Everton was dealt quite the blow at Villa Park on Saturday evening, as a Toffees side bedevilled by injuries to key players succumbed to a 3-0 defeat against Dean Smith's inspired outfit in the Premier League.
With Jordan Pickford, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all unavailable, Everton navigated the first 45 minutes with the scoreline at 0-0, but a second-half flurry of strikes from Matty Cash, Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne's own goal brought the Toffees crashing back down to earth.
Benitez's side had previously taken 10 points from their first four fixtures of the new season - and like QPR, netting at least two goals in every game - but the visit of Norwich City to Goodison Park next weekend represents a prime opportunity to get back on track.
Despite going down to 10 men on the hour mark after Moise Kean's sending off, Everton managed to prevail 2-1 against Huddersfield Town in the second round of the EFL Cup last month, but they have been knocked out in the third round in six of the last 11 editions of the tournament.
QPR and Everton have not locked horns since the Toffees claimed a 2-1 win away from home in the 2014-15 season, their fourth victory on the bounce against their upcoming opponents, who have not prevailed against the Toffees on home turf since 1996.
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Team News
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QPR striker Charlie Austin was fit enough to make an appearance from the bench against Bristol City, but Sam Field (knee) and Luke Wallace (hamstring) are expected to remain out for the time being.
Warburton has been signing the praises of Luke Amos as he nears a return to first-team action, and the midfielder may be considered for some minutes here, albeit probably from the bench.
The hosts should still name a relatively strong side given the calibre of opposition, but Jimmy Dunne, Andre Dozzell and Albert Adomah are all waiting in the wings for a chance to shine.
Everton are already confirmed to be without Calvert-Lewin and Fabian Delph for at least another couple of weeks, while Richarlison and Pickford are expected to have similar timeframes of recovery with knee and shoulder issues.
Seamus Coleman also tweaked his hamstring before the trip to Villa Park and will not be ready for Tuesday, while James Rodriguez complained of muscular pain and was also nowhere to be seen in that 3-0 defeat, despite previous optimism over his fitness.
Salomon Rondon should therefore be handed a second start in quick succession - with 20-year-old Ellis Simms potentially featuring alongside him - while Jonjoe Kenny and Jarrad Branthwaite should be handed opportunities at the back.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Archer; Dickie, Dunne, Barbet; Odubajo, Dozzell, Johansen, McCallum; Chair, Willock; Austin
Everton possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Kenny, Holgate, Branthwaite, Digne; Gomes, Davies; Iwobi, Gray, Gordon; Rondon
We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-3 Everton
Everton have certainly lost some bite on the attacking front - although Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin would most likely have been rested anyway - and QPR need no lessons of their own in finding the back of the net.
With both sides seeking to give their fans something to cheer after disappointing weekend results, an entertaining affair could be in store, and we are backing the Toffees to come out on top in a game where the goals ought to be flowing in.
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 Queens Park Rangers win with a probability of 41.2%. A win for Everton had a probability of 34.13% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Queens Park Rangers win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.38%) and 2-0 (6.42%). The likeliest Everton win was 1-2 (7.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.51%).
