Preview: Preston North End vs Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Queens Park Rangers will be aiming for a fourth consecutive victory when they take on Preston North End on Monday.

The R's are sitting in 10th spot in the Championship table, while the visitors are three points worse off in 15th position.

Match preview

Preston's campaign is set to peter out to an underwhelming conclusion after seeing their playoff hopes dissipate with a poor run of results in 2026.

In fact, PNE have won just two of their previous 14 Championship matches (D4, L8), causing them to drop down to the bottom half of the standings.

They have at least taken four points from their last two games, including maximum points from their home clash against Stoke City before the international window.

After going into the break on the back of a 3-1 success, Paul Heckingbottom's side returned to action with an entertaining 2-2 draw in Friday's away meeting with relegation-threatened Leicester City.

At one stage, Preston looked set to claim their first away win since January 4, but a late Patson Daka equaliser ensured they had to settle for a share of the spoils, extending their winless run on the road to seven matches (D3, L4).

The PNE will now return to the familiar surroundings of Deepdale with hopes of claiming their first victory over QPR since running out 2-0 winners in April 2023.

QPR will travel to Lancashire in high spirits after putting together a three-game winning run, which started with a 3-1 away success against Leicester.

Julien Stephan's side then hammered Portsmouth 6-1 in their final outing before the international break, before they edged out Watford by a 2-1 scoreline in Friday's home meeting, thanks to goals from Rayan Kolli and Paul Smyth.

As a result of the impressive run of form, QPR have moved up to 10th spot in the standings and are now eyeing their first top-half finish since the 2021-22 campaign.

Unfortunately for the R's, they looked to have left it a little too late for a late playoff bid, given the fact they are eight points adrift of the top six with just six games remaining.

Their current focus will be on trying to record four consecutive Championship victories for the first time since January 2025.

The R's fancy their chances of doing just that, having won each of their previous three away meetings with Preston, including a 2-1 success on their most recent trip to Deepdale in April last year.

Preston North End Championship form:

L L L L W D

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

L L L W W W

Team News

Preston defender Jamal Lewis will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on an ankle injury.

Ali McCann and Callum Lang remain unavailable for selection, while Robbie Brady will have to be assessed after being left out of Friday’s squad.

Liam Gibson and Daniel Jebbison could come into Heckingbottom’s thinking if he opts to freshen up his lineup for Monday’s fixture.

As for the visitors, they remain without Ziyad Larkeche, Nicolas Madsen, Ilias Chair and Karamoko Dembele.

Forward Rumarn Burrell is making progress in his recovery process, but he is still a couple of weeks away from returning to action.

Midfielder Isaac Hayden could come into the side to add some fresh legs to the engine room for the away clash.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:

Iversen; Valentin, Storey, Gibson, Hughes, Small; Moran, Whiteman, Devine; Jebbison, Dobbin

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Walsh; Mbengue, Dunne, Edwards, Norrington-Davies; Vale, Morgan, Hayden, Smyth; Kone, Kolli

We say: Preston North End 1-2 Queens Park Rangers

QPR will be full of confidence after winning each of their last three matches, and having enjoyed success in recent away games against Preston, we think the R's will do enough to leave Deepdale with maximum points.

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