After surviving a relegation battle last season, Martí Cifuentes has repaid the faith shown in him by the board at Loftus Road by leading QPR to a fine season so far in the Championship.
However, after a five-game unbeaten league run including four straight victories was brought crashing to a halt by back-to-back defeats to Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall, the Spaniard will be looking for a response from his team in what could prove a make-or-break mid-season clash in West London tonight.
Like his opposite number, John Eustace took over at Blackburn last February with the club embroiled in the same relegation battle. He also guided his team to safety and has overseen a transformative campaign this term, but Eustace has gone even further pushing Rovers into the playoff places as we approach his first anniversary as manager.
The outstanding first half of the season at Ewood Park has raised expectations and now that results have gone their way of late, fans will demand more. Blackburn still sit in 5th at the top of a playoff-chasing pack that stretches as far as 14th and QPR, but two wins in ten games leaves Rovers cut adrift from 4th place Sunderland and needing a turnaround if they are to hang on to the two remaining realistically available playoff places.
QPR vs Blackburn Rovers Team News
QPR are unable to call on Lucas Andersen, Karamoko Dembele, Zan Celar and Jake Clarke-Salter due to injury. Meanwhile, deadline day signing Harvey Vale, who arrives from Chelsea, is sidelined for the remainder of the season. He will continue his rehab at Queens Park Rangers before hopefully making an impact for the team next year.
Likewise, Blackburn are missing several key players of their own. Harry Pickering, Sondre Tronstad, Zak Gilsenan, Hayden Carter, Yuki Ohashi, Arnor Sigurdsson and Scott Wharton are all missing with injuries.
QPR vs Blackburn Rovers Possible Lineups
Cifuentes may look to change something after two straight losses. Young Spurs winger Yang Min-Hyeok, who arrived on loan last week, may get his first start after coming off the bench in the 2-1 defeat away at Millwall.
Queens Park Rangers Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Nardi; Edwards, Cook, Fox, Paal; Varane, Field; Yang Min-Hyeok, Morgan, Chair; Lloyd
Having ended their three-game losing streak by beating Preston North End 2-1 in their last game, Eustace will likely opt to keep things the same as Rovers look to regain the momentum they had earlier in the season with successive victories. New signings Emmanuel Dennis and Cauley Woodrow, both prolific strikers, will likely an impact off the bench in the hope of nailing down starting places going forward.
Blackburn Rovers Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Beck; Travis, Buckley; Dolan, Weimann, Hedges; Gueye
Be sure to head back to Sporticos an hour before kick-off to get updated official lineups and other stats.
QPR vs Blackburn Rovers Prediction
Blackburn stopped the rot with their win last time out over Preston, and they had a fantastic deadline day, bringing in proven goalscorers Dennis and Woodrow. It would not be at all surprising to see either or both of them come off the bench and score debut goals in an away win here.
Prediction: QPR 2 - 3 Blackburn Rovers
This should be a great game to watch for the neutral EFL fan. Two young and well-respected coaches. Two good teams vying for the playoffs, one needing to hang on to what they have, the other pushing to reach it. It could prove to be a fascinating test of mettle for both.
Fans in the UK can watch QPR vs Blackburn on Sky Sports+.
