Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Plymouth Argyle will begin their sojourn in this season’s EFL Cup when they host Queens Park Rangers in their first round encounter at Home Park on Tuesday.

The hosts enter this match after losing their two opening matches in League One, while the visitors managed a draw in their first game in the league this term.

Match preview

After relegation to League One last term, Plymouth’s start to life in the English third tier has been short of expectations following two losses in the first couple of matches.

The 10-man hosts suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Barnsley on the opening day, before going down 2-0 against Bolton last weekend.

Fans of the Greens would have expected a better start to the season, having dropped down from the Championship last season, coupled with their effective showing in two pre-season games, where they scored nine goals and conceded three.

Besides the two losses, Tom Cleverley’s team have conceded five goals in two matches, a situation which is a stark reminder of the shambles which saw them breached on 88 occasions in 46 matches in the last campaign.

That said, the Pilgrims will be aiming for a better start to the EFL Cup, but progression in this competition has been all but smooth, failing to reach the third round since the 2007-08 season.

However, improvements are needed at both ends of the pitch to bolster their chances of getting past Tuesday’s opponents.

QPR began the 2025-26 Championship season with a 1-1 draw against Preston North End on Saturday.

Julien Stephan’s charges took the lead 41 minutes into the fixture, after Ben Whiteman inadvertently turned the ball inside his net, but the Hoops were breached three minutes into the second half after some lax defending.

The visitors will view this encounter as a chance to get their first triumph of the campaign, but they have also struggled in this competition, with their fourth-round appearance in the 2021-22 season their best performance in recent times.

Defensively, Rangers have been struggling, failing to keep a clean sheet in their last six outings across all competitions, with 14 goals conceded in that time.

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

Team News

Not much is expected to change in terms of team selection for this contest on Tuesday, with both likely to name the same or at least a similar starting XI.

Luca Hashby-Hammond should continue in goal, while Matthew Sorinola, Brendan Galloway, Bradley Ibrahim and Victor Palsson should form the back four.

Up front, first-choice striker Bali Mumba is expected to lead the line once again, with Aribim Pepple playing just behind him.

For QPR, Stephan has no injuries to deal with ahead of this fixture, meaning the former Rennes manager could name the same team that featured in the draw against Preston for this contest.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hashby-Hammond; Sorinola, Galloway, Ibrahim, Palsson; Szucs, Amaechi; Boateng, Pepple, Watts; Mumba

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Walsh; Esquerdinha, Mbengue, Morrison, Morgan; Field, Madsen; Dembele, Chair, Poku; Celar