Championship news: Queens Park Rangers vs Leeds Utd – Five key battles and score prediction
Another dreaded early kick-off awaits league leaders Leeds United this weekend as they travel to Loftus Road to take on Queens Park Rangers in the Championship.
The Whites’ automatic promotion hopes were all but dashed in this fixture last season, with QPR delivering a 4-0 thrashing.
Leeds are looking much better this time around, though, as they bounced back from a first loss in 18 games by beating a Millwall side that had already beaten them twice this season.
QPR, on the other hand, fell to a narrow defeat on the road at Middlesbrough last time out, making it four defeats on the bounce for the Rs.
Sports News Blitz writer Samuel Leasley considers five key battles to anticipate in Saturday’s clash and offers a score prediction.
Marti Cifuentes vs Daniel Farke
Cifuentes will no doubt feel hard done by with his side’s recent run of results.
QPR have lost their last four games by only a single goal and out-shot their opposition on three of those occasions.
As the season draws to a close, the Rs appear to be safe from the drop, sitting nine points clear of the bottom three with nine left to play.
Should Cifuentes’ side be more clinical in front of goal, it is entirely possible that they trouble Leeds, who have conceded in four of their last five fixtures.
Daniel Farke will be pleased with the professionalism his side showcased on Wednesday when dispatching a tough Millwall side.
Leeds also restricted the away side to a mere four shots on goal, with zero hitting the target.
Despite that, Farke is sure to demand more clear-cut chances from his team after they only hit the target with two of their 18 shots on Wednesday.
Early kick-offs have seen the Whites win just two of 10 this season, so Farke and Leeds need to focus in order to maintain their cushion within the automatic promotion places.
READ MORE: Leeds Utd analysis: Impressive win over Millwall settles the nerves; QPR thoughts
Ilias Chair vs Ao Tanaka
QPR’s main attacking threat through the centre of the pitch is creative midfielder Chair, who will look to exploit Leeds on the break with his vision and distribution.
Chair is the club’s top assist-maker this season, with six, and the Moroccan scored his first two goals of the season in his side’s recent win over Derby County.
Chair is not shy to take a shot at goal either as he has attempted the second-most shots (28) and the most shots on target (18) in the squad.
A total of six assists does not fully represent the creativity showcased by Chair, the attacking midfielder creating 40 chances in only 19 starts this campaign.
Tanaka will be the man looking to shut down that creativity and aid Leeds in getting a 22nd clean sheet of the season.
The Japanese international added a fourth goal to his seasonal catalogue, with an impressive strike from the edge of the box putting Wednesday’s result beyond any doubt.
He has further accumulated incredible defensive numbers this season, making 45 successful tackles alongside 43 interceptions in 29 starts.
Referees tend to take regular action surrounding Tanaka, though, as he has won 43 fouls and committed 40 himself.
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Koki Saito vs Jayden Bogle
Saito has been a regular feature in Cifuentes’ side this season, appearing in all but one of QPR’s championship fixtures.
In particular, Saito has been a consistent target for opposition full-backs, being fouled 54 times, and the left winger will seek to exploit the rough nature of Bogle on Saturday.
The winger has two goals and three assists to his name while also winning 38 tackles – the second-most in the squad – from his advanced position.
One man who had a quieter than usual evening on Wednesday was Bogle, although the service was admittedly not great.
Bogle did get the better of Femi Azeez at least, preventing the winger from creating any successful chances and dispersing any potential replication of his FA Cup heroics.
After a shaky start, Bogle has proven his worth defensively, winning more tackles than any other Leeds player with 55.
The right-back has, however, given away the most fouls of any player at the club (49) and picked up the most yellow cards (nine).
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Jimmy Dunne vs Manor Solomon
Despite operating from right-back, Dunne has proven to be one of QPR’s biggest attacking threats this season, sitting second in their scoring charts with five goals.
Dunne has also attempted the most shots of any player in the squad, with 39, and 17 have hit the target.
This is not to say that Dunne has been poor defensively as the Irishman sits atop the club’s rankings for both successful tackles (44) and interceptions (40).
He is also a regular threat from set-pieces, with four of his five goals coming from close-range heading opportunities.
On the opposite side, it remains a toss-up whether or not Solomon starts on Saturday. He played the majority of Wednesday’s match, but Farke typically stays away from mass rotation within his squad.
The Israeli international helped provide the breakthrough in midweek, his low cross hitting both Jake Cooper and Lukas Jensen on its way in.
Solomon has, by all accounts, come on leaps and bounds in the second half of the season and has provided seven goals plus the same number of assists so far.
Alongside Junior Firpo, Solomon has made Leeds’ left-hand side a consistent avenue for goals, and there is no doubt the club will be looking into a permanent deal this summer.
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Paul Nardi vs Joel Piroe
Nardi has been Cifuentes’ number one for the entirety of the campaign and is one of only a handful of ‘keepers to make more than 100 saves so far.
The Frenchman has contributed to eight clean sheets and offers a save percentage of 68%. In terms of xGC, he has conceded a single goal more than the expected tally.
No matter his statistics, Nardi will need to be on top form to quell a Leeds attack that has scored the most goals in the league this season with 74.
Joel Piroe will have to wipe out the memory of the last few games, though, after the Dutchman missed two clear-cut chances against Portsmouth.
Piroe has five goals and an assist in his last nine fixtures and has already netted against QPR this season, tucking a tidy finish under Nardi to seal a 2-0 win at Elland Road.
If given a yard of space in the box, Piroe can punish a side and QPR will need to be vigilant to prevent Piroe retaking his place at the top of the Leeds scoring charts.
Summary
This fixture is a strange one to predict, with Leeds’ quality on paper contradicted by their poor form in early kick-offs this season.
QPR are no pushovers either and have been unlucky in recent weeks to take zero points from a possible 12.
The game has the making of a tight affair and it is likely that the side to take the lead wins.
Score prediction: QPR 1-2 Leeds United
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