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Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs. Wycombe Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Queens Park Rangers entertain Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon after the hosts ended a 10-game winless run last time out.

The visitors have been struggling themselves all season, with their 15-point haul leaving them at the foot of the Championship table.


Match preview

Queens Park Rangers QPR manager Mark Warburton pictured in December 2020© Reuters

A 2-0 victory over Luton Town in midweek saw QPR pick up their first three points since late November, when they defeated Rotherham United.

Fans-favourite Charlie Austin marked his return to the club with a debut goal that set Mark Warburton's side on their way to an important win.

Their struggles in the first half of the campaign have left the Loftus Road outfit hovering above the drop zone, just five points from safety.

Warburton's men will be seeing the weekend's encounter as a perfect opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three, and the result could be crucial for both teams' prospects for the rest of the season.

Despite Wycombe currently occupying last place in the second tier of English football, the Chairboys have hit some good form of late.

A convincing 4-1 victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup in their most recent fixture made it two wins from three games and should give Gareth Ainsworth's side confidence coming into this one.

Scoring goals has been the biggest issue for the newly-promoted side. Just 16 efforts in their 23 league games means they have the joint-third lowest tally in the division and has heavily contributed to their struggles.

Three points at the weekend could potentially see Wycombe leapfrog Rotherham in the league standings and spark fresh hope that they could pull off a huge shock and stave off relegation.

Queens Park Rangers Championship form: LDDLDW
Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions): DDLDLW

Wycombe Wanderers Championship form: LLDLWL
Wycombe Wanderers form (all competitions): LDLWLW


Team News

Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth pictured in December 2020© Reuters

Midfield pair Luke Amos and Charlie Owens are long-term absentees for QPR and will once again be unavailable at the weekend.

Austin made an instant impact on his return to the club and should be in line for his first start at Loftus Road in his second spell with the West London outfit.

Whether Macauley Bonne is rewarded for his late goal against Luton or not will be the big decision that Warburton has to make.

The striker scored his third goal of the season against the Hatters and will be hoping to feature from the first whistle at the weekend.

Ainsworth rested several first-team players for their FA Cup victory last time out and now faces a dilemma whether to restore them to the starting XI following their impressive performance against Preston or stick with the same side.

A fully-fit squad gives the manager a headache all managers want, and players such as Darius Charles and Curtis Thompson will be pushing for a recall.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Osayi-Samuel, Barbet, Cameron, Dickie, Kane; Carroll, Chair, Ball; Austin, Bonne

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Allsop; McCarthy, Knight, Tafazolli, Jacobson; Wheeler, Adeniran, Bloomfield; Muskwe, Ikpeazu, Onyedinma


SM words green background

We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Despite Wycombe's lowly position, they always put up a good fight and very rarely concede more than two goals. QPR will have to be at their very best to beat them, but after their win last time out and the return of Austin providing a boost to the whole club, we fancy them to put back-to-back wins together for the first time since early November.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


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Queens Park Rangers QPR manager Mark Warburton pictured in December 2020
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