Aiming to break their eight-match winless run in the Championship, Queens Park Rangers will welcome Sunderland to Loftus Road on Tuesday.
Neil Critchley's side have dropped to 16th spot following their tough spell, while the visitors sit just a single point outside of the playoff places.
Match preview
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After making a positive start to the season and establishing themselves in the fight for playoff places at the top end of the Championship table, Queens Park Rangers have had a much tougher time in recent months, having only managed a single victory and nine points from their last 15 league outings.
That one triumph came shortly after the return to action from the World Cup break against Preston North End in December, and Neil Critchley's men have gone eight matches without another three-point haul since, drawing five of those and suffering three defeats.
Following a 3-0 beating at the hands of Hull City and a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw away at strugglers Huddersfield Town, the Hoops were most recently in action at home to Millwall at the weekend, and after they went 2-0 down following goals from Duncan Watmore and Oliver Burke, Chris Martin's headed goal eight minutes from time was not enough to spark a turnaround and force a result at Loftus Road.
After previously occupying a spot in the top six, QPR have now dropped to 16th spot as a result of their slump with pressure building on Critchley, but with 12th-placed Preston North End just a single point better off, while their seventh-placed opponents only lead by six points, Critchley's men will know that they can get their season back on track if they can put a run of results together starting on Tuesday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will aim to continue their positive run of form and climb into the top six on Tuesday, having put four wins and 15 points on the board in their last eight Championship matches.
Following a 2-0 beating of promotion-chasing Middlesbrough, Tony Mowbray's side played out back-to-back 1-1 draws with Fulham and Millwall in the FA Cup and England's second tier respectively, before welcoming the former to the Stadium Light for their fourth-round replay and losing 3-2 as Jewison Bennette's 90th-minute goal came too late after their visitors led through Harry Wilson, Andreas Pereira and Layvin Kurzawa.
Following that disappointment, the Black Cats returned to Championship action on Saturday when they played host to Reading, and Patrick Roberts hit the only goal of the game in the 84th minute to ensure they picked up another three-point haul and made it three games unbeaten in the league.
Such a result saw the Black Cats leapfrog West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers in the playoff race and move up to seventh spot in their bid for a second straight promotion this season, and they now find themselves just a single point behind Watford and Millwall in the top six, with a game in hand on the former.
Mowbray's men now travel to Loftus Road in search of a 13th Championship win of the campaign to improve their chances of jumping into the playoff places on Tuesday.
Team News
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Queens Park Rangers are set to remain without forward Lyndon Dykes through injury, and Chris Martin could come in from the outset in his absence to lead the line alongside Jamal Lowe, after getting on the scoresheet on his debut in the eventual defeat to Millwall.
Alongside defender Leon Balogun, they should also be missing key creative midfielder Chris Willock, who was forced off the pitch six minutes into his substitute appearance at the weekend.
Ilias Chair will again play a crucial role going forward in his absence, while Jimmy Dunne and Rob Dickie should continue to partner up in the middle of a back four.
Sunderland continue to miss key forward Ross Stewart, who is set to be out for the remainder of the season through injury after netting 10 goals in just 13 Championship appearances this term and helping them to earn promotion with 26 League One goals last campaign.
Without the Scottish forward to spearhead the attack, their line should again be led by Joe Gelhardt, who arrived on loan from Leeds United late in the January transfer window, with plenty of support set to be provided by Patrick Roberts, Jack Clarke and Manchester United loanee Amad Diallo, who has netted seven goals in their last 15 outings in England's second tier.
Mowbray could deploy an unchanged starting XI from the weekend with Edouard Michut likely joining Dan Neil at the base of the midfield and Dan Ballard and Danny Batth partnering up in the middle of a back four.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Laird, Dickie, Dunne, Paal; Field, Johansen, Dozzell; Chair; Martin, Lowe
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Hume, Ballard, Batth, Alese; Neil, Michut; Diallo, Roberts, Clarke; Gelhardt
We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Sunderland
QPR are lacking any confidence in their current slump, and even without Stewart, Sunderland have momentum on their side and the top six in their sights, and we back them to triumph at Loftus Road on Tuesday.
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