Championship title hopefuls Leeds United will be looking to maintain their position at the top of the table when they travel to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime.
After winning the reverse fixture 2-0 at Elland Road just over four months ago, the Whites are looking to complete their first league double over the Hoops since the 2017-18 campaign.
Match preview
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Since putting Derby County to the sword 4-0 on home soil on Valentine’s Day, QPR have been down in the dumps as they have suffered four consecutive defeats, most recently losing 2-1 away against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.
After going two goals down in the opening hour, Steve Cook pulled one back for the Hoops 10 minutes from time to give them hope of a late comeback, but they were unable to restore parity at the Riverside and were condemned to their 15th Championship defeat of the season.
Marti Cifuentes and his players were “angry” after the full-time whistle after failing to take their chances in the final third, and QPR remain 14th in the table, nine points above the bottom three and 12 points behind the playoff spots with nine games remaining.
QPR will welcome a return to Loftus Road where they have won five of their last six home league meetings with Leeds, keeping a clean sheet in each victory.
The Hoops thrashed Leeds 4-0 on home soil last season, despite being 40 points behind them in the second-tier standings, and they now head into Saturday’s contest 35 points behind the Whites.
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Leeds’ impressive 17-game unbeaten league run was surprisingly brought to an end by Portsmouth last weekend, losing 1-0 at Fratton Park, but they bounced back from that setback and secured a 2-0 home win over Millwall on Wednesday night.
The Whites gained revenge over Millwall, who knocked them out in the fourth round of the FA Cup last month, as a third-minute own goal from Jake Cooper and an 85th-minute strike from Ao Tanaka sealed a two-goal victory to move them back to the Championship summit.
Leeds’ 23rd league win after 37 matches was labelled “excellent” and “important” by manager Daniel Farke, who now sees his side sitting two points clear of Sheffield United in second and four points above Burnley in third, after both the Blades and the Clarets dropped points in midweek.
The West Yorkshire outfit travel to Loftus Road on Saturday boasting the third-best away record in the Championship this season, with 31 points accumulated across 18 games on the road (W8 D7 L3) – only Middlesbrough (30) have scored more away goals than Leeds (27) so far this term.
However, since beating QPR 3-1 away from home in December 2017, Leeds have lost 24 of their last 31 league matches in London (W3 D4), losing nine of their last 10 in the capital.
Team News
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QPR boss Cifuentes said he was “very concerned” after star midfielder Ilias Chair sustained a hamstring injury in midweek, while Sam Field, Jonathan Varane, Zan Celar, Rayan Kolli and Jake Clarke-Salter are also sidelined through injury.
Karamoko Dembele could be recalled to start on the left flank at the expense of Chair, with Koki Saito moving into the number 10 role in behind top scorer Michael Frey, who has eight goals to his name this season and has netted twice in his last three home matches.
As for Leeds, they are still having to cope without Ethan Ampadu, Maximilian Wober (both knee) and Patrick Bamford (hamstring) due to injury, while Joe Rothwell will be assessed ahead of kickoff after picking up a minor knee issue in midweek.
If Rothwell is not fit to start, then Ilia Gruev will likely play alongside Tanaka in midfield, while Danil James, Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon all provide support in attack for Joel Piroe, who scored one of his 15 Championship goals this season in the reverse fixture against QPR.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Nardi; Dunne, Cook, Edwards, Paal; Morgan, Colback; Smyth, Saito, Dembele; Frey
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Firpo; Tanaka, Gruev; James, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe
We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Leeds United
Leeds’ away record in London leaves little to be desired and QPR have enjoyed hosting the Whites in recent years, but Farke’s men will still be regarded as favourites to come out on top and should ultimately find a way to pick up three valuable points against the out-of-form hosts.
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