Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs Cardiff City - prediction, team news, lineups

Cardiff City will make the journey from the Welsh capital to the English capital on Wednesday night when they face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road in the Championship.

Both sides maintained their unbeaten league starts at the weekend, with the Rs coming from behind to beat Blackburn Rovers while the Bluebirds were involved in an entertaining 2-2 draw with Sheffield United in South Wales.

Match preview

Following a 15th-placed finish in the 2025-26 campaign, Queens Park Rangers will be hoping to produce a more consistent season after ending the previous season just 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

The West London club have strengthened their squad during the summer, bringing in former Premier League full-backs Dennis Cirkin and Tariq Lamptey on free transfers, while goalkeeper Pierce Charles and Glen Kamara have arrived on loan.

Julien Stephan's side have made a positive start to the new campaign, beating Portsmouth and Blackburn either side of a goalless draw with Bolton Wanderers, although their League Cup campaign ended at the first hurdle following a penalty-shootout defeat to Millwall in which they failed to convert any of their four spot kicks.

One of the most encouraging aspects of QPR's early form has been their ability to respond when falling behind, with both league victories requiring second-half comebacks.

They overturned a deficit to beat Portsmouth 3-1 before producing another turnaround at Ewood Park on Saturday, where Paul Smyth and Jimmy Dunne struck after the break to secure a 2-1 victory over Blackburn.

Stephan's side now head into the fourth league sitting among the unbeaten sides and will be hoping to maintain their momentum against another team yet to taste defeat. 

© Imago / News Images

As for Cardiff City, they have made an unbeaten return to the Championship following their solitary season in League One.

Under Irish manager Brian Barry-Murphy, the Bluebirds finished second last season with 91 points from 46 matches, recording the division's best attacking record as they secured an immediate return to the second tier.

Cardiff have also strengthened during the summer, with Lincoln City attacking midfielder Jack Moylan arriving after helping the Imps win the League One title, while goalkeeper Nathan Trott has made his move permanent after a successful loan spell at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Those additions have helped Cardiff make a steady start, although Barry-Murphy's side are still searching for their first league victory after drawing all three of their opening Championship matches.

Saturday's 2-2 draw with Sheffield United was the most dramatic of those stalemates, with Moylan opening the scoring inside two minutes before the Bluebirds conceded twice within the next five minutes.

Cian Ashford pulled them level just before half-time, but Cardiff were unable to find a winner despite having taken the lead so early in the contest.

Barry-Murphy's side did begin the campaign with an EFL Cup victory over Swindon Town, winning 3-2, before Norwich City ended their cup run in the following round. 

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

Cardiff City Championship form:

Cardiff City form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Queens Park Rangers came through Saturday's victory without any fresh injury concerns, although Stephan continues to have several players unavailable for selection.

Summer arrival Boy Kemper has managed just 20 minutes of Championship football since joining the club and remains sidelined while he continues his recovery.

Karamoko Dembele and Justin Obikwu are also unavailable, with neither player having featured since January.

Cardiff, meanwhile, could be forced into a defensive change after Krystian Bielik was forced off on his debut with an injury.

Calum Scanlon is therefore in contention to replace the former Birmingham City player, with Bielik joining fellow defenders Dylan Lawlor, William Fish and Calum Chambers on the sidelines.

Yousef Salech has already scored four goals in all competitions this season and is expected to continue leading the line, while Ruben Colwill should operate in the number 10 role behind him.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Charles; Lamptey, Dunne, Clarke-Slater, Cirkin; Smyth, Edwards, Kamara, Chair; Kone, Burrell

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:

Trott; Ng, Scanlon, Osho, Bagan; Robertson, Ashford; Tanner, R. Colwill, Moylan, Salech

We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Cardiff City

With neither side having suffered defeat in the Championship, we expect another closely fought contest at Loftus Road.

Cardiff's run of draws should continue, with QPR also likely to settle for a share of the points despite their strong start to the campaign.

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