QPR vs Middlesbrough Preview
Middlesbrough travel to West London this weekend on the back of a much needed yet controversial win at the Riverside against playoff chasers Norwich City in midweek.
Relegation is not impossible, but Boro’s recent concerns about being dragged into the battle have silenced after their victory which has them 9 points clear of the bottom three.
Michael Carrick’s side seem to be preparing for next season in the Championship unless they produce an unlikely, late surge into the top six.
Whilst the season is slowly petering out for the Teesiders, their opponents on Saturday have everything to play for in their bid to stay in the division.
Opposition
QPR have really struggled this campaign spending the majority of it inside the relegation zone. Gareth Ainsworth was sacked by the club on the 28th October after six consecutive defeats, culminating with a loss to league leaders Leicester City.
But since the appointment of Spanish head coach Marti Cifuentes, they’ve given themselves a serious chance of survival. They currently sit 19th following 3 wins in their last 4 games, including beating Leicester last weekend on their own turf.
They come into this weekend off the back of an entertaining 2-2 draw with West Brom at Loftus Road. Like Middlesbrough, this game involved controversy when Sam Field’s header was cleared off the line via the hand of Cedric Kipre’s to infuriate the Londoners, denying a certain goal and potentially costing them two more points.
Nevertheless, the hosts are in the midst of their best form of the season and have gotten themselves out of the bottom three as they look to avoid relegation to League One.
Ilias Chair is the one to watch for the Hoops with 5 goals and 6 assists to his name this campaign and in terrific form.
From a Boro perspective, Chris Willock has a history of causing them problems, with 5 goal contributions in the previous 5 meetings between the sides, including a screamer in this exact fixture last season. He loves playing Middlesbrough.
Previous Meetings
QPR came out on top early on this season when they picked up a 2-0 win at the Riverside Stadium in September thanks to goals from Andre Dozzell and Jack Colback.
Since Middlesbrough’s relegation back to the Championship in 2017, the two teams have played a total of 13 times:
QPR Wins: 6
Draws: 2
Middlesbrough Wins: 4
Middlesbrough last win at Loftus Road occurred in early 2018 under Tony Pulis and is seen as a bogey ground for the visitors.
If recency is anything to go by, QPR come into this as slight favourites despite the league positions, coming out on top in 4 of the last 6 fixtures.
Prediction
I think this match will see plenty of goals in a tight affair. With no draws in the last 3 meetings, I believe that one is due, therefore I’m going to go with a score draw for this one with Chris Willock and Emmanuel Latte Lath both getting on the scoresheet.
Prediction: QPR 2-2 Middlesbrough.
