MX23RW : Thursday, May 16 16:25:12| >> :120:63178:63178:

Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs. Wycombe Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Queens Park Rangers and Wycombe Wanderers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Queens Park Rangers entertain Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon after the hosts ended a 10-game winless run last time out.

The visitors have been struggling themselves all season, with their 15-point haul leaving them at the foot of the Championship table.


Match preview

Queens Park Rangers QPR manager Mark Warburton pictured in December 2020© Reuters

A 2-0 victory over Luton Town in midweek saw QPR pick up their first three points since late November, when they defeated Rotherham United.

Fans-favourite Charlie Austin marked his return to the club with a debut goal that set Mark Warburton's side on their way to an important win.

Their struggles in the first half of the campaign have left the Loftus Road outfit hovering above the drop zone, just five points from safety.

Warburton's men will be seeing the weekend's encounter as a perfect opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three, and the result could be crucial for both teams' prospects for the rest of the season.

Despite Wycombe currently occupying last place in the second tier of English football, the Chairboys have hit some good form of late.

A convincing 4-1 victory over Preston North End in the FA Cup in their most recent fixture made it two wins from three games and should give Gareth Ainsworth's side confidence coming into this one.

Scoring goals has been the biggest issue for the newly-promoted side. Just 16 efforts in their 23 league games means they have the joint-third lowest tally in the division and has heavily contributed to their struggles.

Three points at the weekend could potentially see Wycombe leapfrog Rotherham in the league standings and spark fresh hope that they could pull off a huge shock and stave off relegation.

Queens Park Rangers Championship form: LDDLDW
Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions): DDLDLW

Wycombe Wanderers Championship form: LLDLWL
Wycombe Wanderers form (all competitions): LDLWLW


Team News

Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth pictured in December 2020© Reuters

Midfield pair Luke Amos and Charlie Owens are long-term absentees for QPR and will once again be unavailable at the weekend.

Austin made an instant impact on his return to the club and should be in line for his first start at Loftus Road in his second spell with the West London outfit.

Whether Macauley Bonne is rewarded for his late goal against Luton or not will be the big decision that Warburton has to make.

The striker scored his third goal of the season against the Hatters and will be hoping to feature from the first whistle at the weekend.

Ainsworth rested several first-team players for their FA Cup victory last time out and now faces a dilemma whether to restore them to the starting XI following their impressive performance against Preston or stick with the same side.

A fully-fit squad gives the manager a headache all managers want, and players such as Darius Charles and Curtis Thompson will be pushing for a recall.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Osayi-Samuel, Barbet, Cameron, Dickie, Kane; Carroll, Chair, Ball; Austin, Bonne

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Allsop; McCarthy, Knight, Tafazolli, Jacobson; Wheeler, Adeniran, Bloomfield; Muskwe, Ikpeazu, Onyedinma


SM words green background

We say: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Despite Wycombe's lowly position, they always put up a good fight and very rarely concede more than two goals. QPR will have to be at their very best to beat them, but after their win last time out and the return of Austin providing a boost to the whole club, we fancy them to put back-to-back wins together for the first time since early November.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:430562: cacheID:430562:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7643:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Queens Park Rangers QPR manager Mark Warburton pictured in December 2020
Read Next:
Mark Warburton hails Charlie Austin for lifting QPR spirits
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!