Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs Blackburn Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

In what may or may not be their first match under the wing of Michael O'Neill, Blackburn Rovers visit Loftus Road for Saturday's Championship contest with Queens Park Rangers.

The former Premier League champions fell short against Norwich City last time out, while their hosts settled for a goalless stalemate with Charlton Athletic.

Match preview

The short trip across the capital did not prove worthwhile for QPR or their fans on February 6, as Julien Stephan's side failed to make the most of their possession dominance in a 0-0 draw with Charlton at The Valley.

Failure to collect another maximum was a harsh reality check for QPR following their statement 2-1 win over title-chasing Coventry City in the previous gameweek, and also denied them a return to the top half of the Championship standings.

Nevertheless, the 13th-placed Hoops are only three points adrift of Wrexham in the final playoff place - such is the incredibly tight nature of the mid-season rankings - having lost just one of their last six Championship clashes.

Furthermore, home has been where the heart is for QPR more often than not in recent weeks, as the hosts have won six of their last eight clashes in front of the Loftus Road faithful, scoring at least twice in seven of those contests.

Stephan's men have also netted a praiseworthy 28 home goals in total this season - only Coventry, Ipswich Town and Birmingham City have struck more - but they have kept just one clean sheet in their last eight at Loftus Road, against doomed Sheffield Wednesday.

While the ins and outs of transfer deadline day dominated the headlines on February 2, Blackburn perhaps sought to take advantage of the market chaos by announcing Valerien Ismael's departure as head coach, just one day before the visit of League One-bound Wednesday.

The new manager bounce was only marginally in effect for Blackburn, who could only edge out the Owls 1-0 on home turf, before Damien Johnson oversaw a 2-0 loss to Norwich at Carrow Road last Saturday.

Anis Ben Slimane and Mohamed Toure broke Rovers' resistance in the final 20 minutes to leave Saturday's visitors 22nd in the table, albeit only behind troubled Leicester City on goal difference following the Foxes' six-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules.

Whether Johnson will still be barking orders from the touchline at Loftus Road remains to be seen, as Northern Ireland head coach O'Neill is understood to have agreed a short-term contract with Blackburn, whom he will manage on an interim basis for the rest of the season alongside his national-team duties.

O'Neill's first game could come against a team who edged out Blackburn 1-0 in their earlier meeting this season, prior to which QPR also triumphed 2-1 at Loftus Road last term, thanks to a winner from Jack Colback.

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Team News

QPR midfielder Isaac Hayden swiftly recovered from a knock to start against Charlton, but Karamoko Dembele suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the win over Coventry and is now on the long road to recovery.

Dembele joins Justin Obikwu, Ziyad Larkeche and Rumarn Burrell in the QPR infirmary, but Stephan has been boosted by the returns of Jake Clarke-Salter, Ilias Chair and Jonathan Varane to training, although only the former may be given the green light for this clash.

Attacker Koki Saito lasted just 58 minutes in the forgettable draw with Charlton, but a lack of experienced alternatives means that the 24-year-old should be retained on the right.

On Blackburn's end, no fewer than six players will definitely sit out the trip to the capital, as Scott Wharton, Ryan Hedges, Matty Litherland, Augustus Kargbo, Sidnei Tavares and George Pratt are all in the treatment room.

Midfielder Jake Garrett has been regaining fitness with the Under-21s and may soon be considered for senior action again, but a spot in the first XI is unrealistic for the former England youth international.

Instead, Todd Cantwell will be pulling the central strings, but the 27-year-old picked up his ninth booking of the season last time out and will incur a two-game ban if he is cautioned here too.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Walsh; Edwards, Dunne, Cook, Norrington-Davies; Hayden, Madsen; Saito, Vale, Smyth; Kone

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Alebiosu, Miller, McLoughlin, Cashin; Tronstad, Baradji; Jorgensen, Cantwell, Morishita; Ohashi

We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

QPR at Loftus Road almost always means goals at both ends of the pitch, and we see no reason why that trend will not continue against an out-of-sorts Blackburn outfit.

Even if O'Neill's appointment triggers some renewed Rovers hope, the hosts' attacking firepower should carry them over the line.

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