Preston North End will take on Queens Park Rangers in the Championship on Friday night in an attempt to win after suffering back-to-back losses following the international break.
Although they resumed winning earlier this week, QPR is currently 22nd in the standings, while the home team is in seventh place.
Preston’s supporters would not have been pleased with their team’s progress even though they arrived at this point in the season in a position they would have jumped at before the campaign began.
They have only won twice in their last 11 games, and that was right before the international break. Despite this, they are still only a few points out of third place.
They were deflated after losing 2-1 with ten men to two late goals against Cardiff City, and they later suffered a 4-0 loss at Middlesbrough.
Preston was probably lucky to leave Riverside Stadium with that score after being thoroughly outplayed in the first half. Ryan Lowe will need to motivate his team before this match.
Preston has amassed 17 points from their nine games at Deepdale, but in their five games, they have only recorded one victory—against the previously struggling Coventry City.
The announcement of Marti Cifuentes as the new head coach of QPR has left supporters puzzled, as the appointment seemed surprising considering the options available to them.
However, after his team defeated Stoke City 4-2 on Tuesday, the Spaniard now has five points from his first four games. It was their first victory at Loftus Road since March.
The fact that their opponents were reduced to 10 men before the West Londoners scored three goals starting in the 79th minute helped, but it was the kind of comeback that gives momentum.
It was noteworthy because, since September 2, QPR had not scored more than once in a game in 13 attempts. Under Cifuentes, they have also only given up four goals in the same number of games.
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Although Lowe made adjustments during halftime and after Preston fell behind 3-0 at Middlesbrough, it doesn’t mean he will make too many changes to his team for this game.
Nevertheless, Robbie Brady, who returned from a one-game suspension, is a left wing-back option, and Ben Woodburn, Alan Browne, and Duane Holmes are all viable options to enter the midfield and final third.
Lowe also has to choose whether to start Brad Potts, who is serving his own suspension for five yellow cards, in place of the recently returned Calvin Ramsey, riskily.
Reggie Cannon and Chris Willock, meanwhile, will believe that following their impressive performances against Stoke as substitutes, they have elevated their chances of being called up by QPR.
Given the short turnaround, Cifuentes might add a few more fresh legs, but significant changes are unlikely following Tuesday’s victory.
Possible starting lineup for Preston North End: Woodman, Storey, Hughes, Lindsay, Ramsey, Whiteman, Browne, Brady, Holmes, Frokjaer-Jensen, Osmajic
Begovic; Cannon, Cook, Dunne, Paal; Colback, Field, Dixon-Bonner; Willock, Dykes, Chair are the potential starting lineup for the Queens Park Rangers.
We declare: Queens Park Rangers 1-0 Preston North End
Under their new management, QPR appears to be gaining traction, so they will bet on their chances of winning back-to-back games in quick succession. Nevertheless, we are supporting Preston to win a share of the spoils and get just enough momentum to get back on track—a conclusion that the visitors might find acceptable as well.
