Aiming to avoid four-straight defeats at the beginning of 2024, Queens Park Rangers welcome London rivals Millwall to MATRADE Loftus Road for a Championship clash on Saturday afternoon.
The R's are embroiled in a battle for their second-tier status at the bottom of the league standings, while the Lions have moved away from danger in recent weeks under relatively-new management.
Match preview
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Queens Park Rangers' Loftus Road troubles continued last weekend against Hertfordshire outfit Watford in the Championship, as a Jake Livermore double in the second half condemned the hosts to another defeat at their West London home, despite a late consolation from Scotland international Lyndon Dykes.
Following a promising four-game unbeaten run near the beginning of Marti Cifuentes's spell as QPR head coach, the R's are now eight games without a win across the Championship and FA Cup since 16 December, meaning there was little festive or New Year's cheer for Saturday's hosts.
Collecting two points from the last 21 available in the league, QPR are currently occupying 23rd position in the second-tier standings, five points behind Darren Moore's Huddersfield Town in the relative safety of 21st, and just three points ahead of bottom side Rotherham United.
The attacking talents of Ilias Chair and Chris Willock will be imperative as the R's look to avoid third-tier football next season, with the forward duo often being the sole providers of creativity in the forward line, combining for nine goal contributions so far this term.
QPR's poor record at Loftus Road extends further back than the three consecutive losses at the beginning of 2024, with Saturday's hosts earning just nine points from their 13 home league matches to date, six points fewer than any other side in the Championship, scoring on only 12 occasions.
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Millwall's five-game unbeaten run in the Championship came to a disappointing end at The Den last Saturday, when Michael Carrick's promotion-chasing Middlesbrough arrived in the capital and produced a spirited comeback to escape to their Teesside home with maximum points.
Lions' wing-back Joe Bryan knows a fair bit about earning promotion from this level thanks to his time at Fulham, and the 30-year-old had the hosts ahead after 10 minutes, but strikes from Lukas Engel, Isaiah Jones and substitute Marcus Forss turned the game on its head for the visitors.
After seriously pushing for a top-six finish under Gary Rowett last season, Millwall have the remit of avoiding a relegation battle with Joe Edwards in charge this term, and the Lions sit 16th in the Championship table, possessing a comforting 10-point advantage over 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday.
The eight-point gap between Edwards's side and sixth-placed Coventry City is by no means unassailable, but the Lions will need their attacking players to start hitting the peaks of last season, with Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming netting just eight goals between them this term after scoring 32 combined in 2022-23.
Addressing a lack of options in defence, Millwall confirmed the loan signing of Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Japhet Tanganga on Thursday as the club's first January arrival, with the 24-year-old bringing Premier League and Champions League experience from his first-team days in North London.
Team News
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QPR will be without the services of attacker Rayan Kolli until later this month, with the 18-year-old sustaining a leg injury in the loss against Cardiff City on New Year's Day.
Despite failing to find the net last time out, Irishman Sinclair Armstrong proved a real handful for the Watford backline and could be rewarded with another start here.
Sam Field has been a regular fixture in the R's engine room since the arrival of Cifuentes, and the former West Bromwich Albion youngster could be joined by Elijah Dixon-Bonner in the middle of the park.
Millwall are set to be without Bradshaw for around five weeks due to a hamstring injury sustained in training, meaning Kevin Nisbet will lead the line for the visitors on the weekend.
Better news arrives in the form of George Saville's availability, who has now served his three-game suspension for a red card and could come straight into the XI.
George Honeyman was forced off in the closing stages of the Boro defeat with complaints of tightness in his hamstring, but subsequent scans have revealed there is no damage to the area, so the 29-year-old should be fit to feature at Loftus Road.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Cannon, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Field, Dixon-Bonner, Willock, Dykes, Chair; Armstrong
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; McNamara, Harding, Cooper; Longman, Saville, Mitchell, Bryan; Watmore, Flemming, Nisbet
We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Millwall
QPR have been woeful at Loftus Road this season and in recent weeks especially, but we feel that the likes of Chair and Willock could be able to fire the hosts to victory this weekend.
Millwall have lost back-to-back games over the past fortnight, and we believe that their losing run will continue in a highly-anticipated London derby on Saturday.
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