Queens Park Rangers begin a new era under Neil Critchley when they travel to face Preston North End in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides resumed their second-tier campaigns after the World Cup break in differing fashions, with the Lilywhites thrashing Blackburn Rovers whereas a managerless R's were thumped 3-0 at home to table-topping Burnley.
Match preview
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Preston were in a winter wonderland at Ewood Park last weekend, as a brace from Ched Evans and strikes from Ben Woodburn and Ben Whiteman earned Ryan Lowe's side an impressive 4-1 victory in Lancashire.
As the early-season sun and warmth has been replaced by snowy conditions, Preston have found a clinical edge to accompany their defensive solidity that amazed during the start of the season, and now the Lilywhites are sixth in the Championship, two points clear of seventh-placed Millwall.
Preston have won four of their last five second-tier fixtures, and have scored eight goals in their last three matches, with five of those coming from forward Evans who had not scored in over 30 league games before a stunning second-half brace against Reading in November.
The tide is beginning to turn for Lowe's humble set of players and they will surely be aiming for a top-six finish given the competitiveness of the Championship so far this season, especially when considering the small points difference between the teams outside the automatic promotion places.
Preston have been the best travellers in the league so far but it is their form at Deepdale which is preventing them from competing for an unlikely top-two position, with North End managing to collect just 13 points from their opening 11 matches in front of their home faithful.
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A QPR side under the temporary stewardship of Paul Hall fell to a 3-0 defeat against league-leaders Burnley last time out, with that disappointing result extending the team's losing run to four matches, a complete departure from early-season form that saw them inside the top two.
When former boss Michael Beale rejected an approach from Wolverhampton Wanderers for their managerial role in October, there was a sense that the highly-rated coach would go on to guide QPR back into the Premier League and that the club's eight-year tussle with the Championship would come to a satisfying end.
However, the West London club have gone on to lose Beale to Scottish giants Rangers at the start of this month as the 42-year-old looks to plot his way to elite club coaching, leaving former Blackpool boss Critchley with the task of regalvanizing a set of players who have lost their way of late.
Having scored just once in their last six Championship matches, Critchley will need to get the likes of Lyndon Dykes and Chris Willock firing again to give themselves a chance of regaining a top-six position as January approaches.
Sitting eighth in the league standings, a tight middle section of the Championship has allowed QPR to endure a poor run of form without being cut adrift too severely, but any further prolonged periods without points will likely sentence Critchley's men to another season in the second tier.
Team News
Preston will remain without striker Troy Parrott for the visit of QPR on Saturday, with the 20-year-old suffering a hamstring injury in the 3-2 success at Norwich City in early October - a game in which the Tottenham Hotspur loanee netted the decisive goal.
Lowe was forced to name an extremely young bench in the victory at Ewood Park with first-team players such as Robbie Brady and Emil Riis Jakobsen missing out due to the injury, with the Preston boss being vague when questioned on their availability this weekend during the pre-match press conference.
Sean Maguire and Alistair McCann were also amongst the players who did not feature at Blackburn, but Lowe is hopeful a few of his sidelined men will be able to escape the medical room and play some part on Saturday.
Ilias Chair will be unavailable for QPR this weekend as he looks to earn his first World Cup minutes for Morocco during their third-place playoff against Croatia, a distinct possibility if the Atlas Lions decide to rest Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech after their contributions to their nation's historic run to the semi-finals.
Despite Chair's absence, Critchley may considerably alter the R's XI after such a poor result against Burnley, with Albert Adomah and Olamide Shodipo pushing Willock and George Thomas for starting berths.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Cunningham; Potts, Whiteman, Ledson, Fernandez; Johnson, Woodburn, Evans
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Laird, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Dozzell, Field, Iroegbunam; Adomah, Willock, Dykes
We say: Preston North End 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Preston are enjoying a good run of form that has lifted them into the top six, but they now need to improve their home record, starting with the visit of QPR this weekend.
Despite confidence being low in the R's camp and star man Chair still in Qatar, a well-drilled and committed QPR side could earn a point on their travels in Critchley's first match in charge.
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Top tip
Carter White
