Last-placed Queens Park Rangers will be desperate to leapfrog 21st-placed Coventry City when they host them at Loftus Road in the Championship on Tuesday.
QPR are 24th with seven points from 10 games but are only one point from safety, and a win on Tuesday would take them above Coventry, who have eight points after 10 matches and are one place above the relegation zone.
Match preview
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The hosts have flirted with relegation in the last two seasons, finishing 20th in 2022-23 and 18th in 2023-24, and it seems that they will once again participate in a battle to stay in the second tier.
QPR have only won once in the league and lost 2-1 last time out against Portsmouth on Saturday, a match in which they had taken the lead after just nine minutes.
Boss Marti Cifuentes spoke after the defeat and said that he was calm about the situation, going as far to say he was very confident that his team's dire predicament would improve.
Cifuentes's side have scored 10 goals and conceded 18 times, and these records make them the joint fourth-worst offensive and joint second-worst defensive team in the division.
The home team have lost their last four games in the Championship by a cumulative score of 9-2 and have failed to win any of their last six league matches.
QPR's home record is similarly concerning, with the team having lost three and drawn two of their five most recent games at Loftus Road, though they did score in all of those matches.
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As for Tuesday's visitors, they come into the clash having lost 1-0 against Preston North End in their last Championship match on Saturday.
Preston were the better team on the day, and Coventry were arguably fortunate to have not conceded more than once.
Manager Mark Robins refused to fault his players for the defeat and instead vented his frustration at what he believed was a wrongfully disallowed goal in the 83rd minute that would have levelled the scoreline.
Robins's team have lost their last two games and have won just once in their last eight league matches, drawing two and losing five times in that period.
Coventry have been poor away from home for some time considering they have lost five and drawn three of their eight most recent Championship fixtures on the road.
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The hosts will be without midfielder Jack Colback and centre-back Liam Morrison until late October.
QPR will likely not risk defender Jake Clarke-Salter given Cifuentes explicitly said that he was rested against Portsmouth because he wanted him to avoid suffering an injury setback.
Expect goalkeeper Paul Nardi to be shielded by a back three of Jimmy Dunne, Steve Cook and Morgan Fox, while Sam Field and Nicolas Madsen could start as a double pivot in midfield.
Winger Karamoko Dembele was forced off due to injury last time out, and he could be replaced in the starting lineup by Lucas Andersen.
As for the visitors, they will be unable to select defender Jake Bidwell until late November, while Raphael Borges Rodrigues is out as a result of a leg injury.
Elsewhere, Coventry will have to contend with the absence of goalkeeper Ben Wilson, who is out for a few weeks, as well as midfielder Jamie Allen.
Robins will almost certainly name Oliver Dovin in goal behind a back three of Bobby Thomas, Joel Latibeaudiere and Luis Binks.
In midfield, expect Josh Eccles, Ben Sheaf and Jack Rudoni to feature behind a front two of Ellis Simms and Norman Bassette.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Cook, Fox; Ashby, Madsen, Field, Paal; Chair, Frey, Andersen
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Dovin; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Binks, Dasilva; Eccles, Sheaf, Rudoni; Simms, Bassette
We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Coventry City
Given the precarious situation of both sides at the bottom of the table, it would not be surprising if they played cautiously.
While QPR have failed to win for some time, Coventry have a poor away record, and it is difficult to see either team earning all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
