QPR vs Derby predictions: Rams to draw on defensive prowess
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- QPR lost 1-0 at Coventry on Tuesday night
- Derby are without a win in 10 games
- Recommended bet: Draw
It may well be all change in the Derby dug-out with John Eustace tipped to be leading the struggling Rams to west London to take on QPR in a crunch Championship clash on Friday night.
Team news
Exciting young QPR forward Karamoko Dembele is fit after a lengthy lay-off and set for a place on Marti Cifuentes' bench.
Midfielder Lucas Andersen is also back in training but defender Jake Clarke-Salter remains sidelined.
None of Derby's injured players, including centre-back Curtis Nelson, will be available.
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The stats
QPR have lost three of their last four matches but have won six of their last seven home games.
Derby are without a win in 10 games. They have played 18 away fixtures in all competitions this season and won just once, 2-1 at Coventry in November.
October's reverse meeting between these two sides ended in a 2-0 win for Derby thanks to goals from Curtis Nelson and Marcus Harness, but QPR triumphed 1-0 the last time they met in west London in April 2022.
Prediction
Derby have not exactly sprung to life but they have at least stopped the bleeding since Paul Warne's demise, and that can encourage them to believe they can avoid defeat at Loftus Road.
What they have shown under interim chief Matt Hamshaw is a defensive resilience, incredibly limiting Norwich to just eight shots in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Carrow Road and then Oxford to only six in a miserable 0-0 draw at Pride Park on Tuesday.
Hamshaw deserves credit for organising a defence which looks as solid as most in the second tier — their problem is at the other end of the pitch where they look utterly toothless.
Only three Championship sides are averaging fewer shots per game than the relegation-threatened Rams.
The players did well to focus on keeping Oxford at bay while new-manager talk enveloped the club, who are hoping to have Blackburn boss John Eustace in place for the weekend.
QPR, of course, cannot worry about who is patrolling the opposition technical area, merely their own form.
And that had been good up until a few weeks ago, but three defeats in their last four has seen them backpedal away from the play-off frame, though they are still very much in touch.
Under Cifuentes they are playing some really nice football, with the likes of Ilias Chair and Koki Saito offering the guile and panache, while Michael Frey up front provides the brawn.
He is exactly the sort of striker, however, who the likes of Nat Phillips and Matt Clarke will look forward to shackling, and you get a sense that this could turn into a struggle for the home side, especially given Derby's physical approach and new-found discipline.
Do not be surprised if there is a shortage of thrills and if there is a lack of goals, the chances of a draw will increase.
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