Preview: West Ham United vs Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

West Ham will endeavour to claim their first victory of 2026 at the third time of asking when they play host to Championship outfit Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.

QPR enter this cup tie off the back of an impressive 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday; meanwhile, the Hammers have lost their last two fixtures, a 3-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers before a 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Match preview

Hammers fans will hope the FA Cup can provide the perfect opportunity for Nuno Espirito Santo to turn the form of West Ham around and to help lessen the speculation around his future as manager of the club.

Santo is expected to remain at the helm for the time being, in spite of talk of Slaven Bilic potentially returning to the London Stadium and the hosts' appalling recent record; the club are winless in their last 10 games, with their last victory coming against Burnley on November 8.

The club’s recent form in the FA Cup has not been overly positive, as they have been eliminated at this stage of the competition in the last two seasons.

However, they may not have been able to ask for a better opponent at the London Stadium, as West Ham are unbeaten in their last five home games against QPR, even if their last victory came in October 2014.

Victory over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend was important for the R’s and their playoff hopes, as it ensured they stopped a winless run of three games across the festive period, keeping them within three points of Watford in sixth.

Julien Stephan could look at their FA Cup opponents this weekend as the perfect opportunity to make it consecutive wins due to the recent poor form of the Hammers.

QPR will take confidence in the knowledge that they have eliminated West Ham on the previous three occasions they have squared off in this competition, but the most recent was a 1-0 fourth-round victory in 1994-95 under Ray Wilkins.

However, fans may be worried about the club’s record at this stage of the FA Cup, as since 1925-26 - the competition’s current format - the R’s have been eliminated on 52 occasions, more often than any other side.

While when QPR find themselves playing outside of the Premier League, they have lost their last 12 FA Cup ties against top-flight opposition.

West Ham United form (all competitions):

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Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

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Team News

West Ham will still be without the services of El Hadji Malick Diouf due to the defender being involved with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations; however, Santo will be pleased to see the return of Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the club following the elimination of DR Congo from the competition.

Mads Hermansen will likely be named in goal for the first time for the Hammers since a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspurs in August, with the Dane yet to feature under Santo.

West Ham may go with as strong a team as possible to finally end their winless run and kickstart their battle against relegation.

QPR remain without Jake Clarke-Salter, Ilias Chair, Ziyad Larkeche and Liam Morrison through injuries, while Rumarn Burrell and Jonathan Varane have joined this list with knocks, as they were withdrawn from action in their last game.

Another concern for Stephan is Kwame Poku, as he was taken off at halftime; however, there is a possibility he could be involved in the matchday squad from the bench for this FA Cup tie.

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Julio, Scarles; Fernandes, Potts; Bowen, Paqueta, Summerville; Castellanos

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Nardi; Mbengue, Dunne, Cook, Norrington-Davies; Dembele, Madsen, Field, Smyth; Kolli, Kone

We say: West Ham United 1-2 Queens Park Rangers

West Ham are simply incapable of keeping the ball out of their goal at home under Santo, while QPR have hit the net in each of their last 11 games, so they should capitalise on the Hammers' defensive vulnerabilities.

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