Queens Park Rangers
- Queens Park Rangers come into this Saturday’s game with Sheffield United in mixed form having won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five Championship matches.
- Julien Stéphan’s side are 13th in the league table with 47 points from 33 games, two points ahead of Saturday’s visitors who are 14th with the same number of games played.
- QPR have won eight, drawn two and lost six of their 16 home Championship games this term, making them a tough nut to crack.
- They have won one and lost two of their last three at Loftus Road.
- Stéphan’s men can play in either a 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2 system and are good at controlling possession and overloading the middle third with players before playing vertically when they have a numerical advantage.
- They press in situations, rather than all the time, which allows them to get back into position in the right areas to press in a very organised manner.
Sheffield United
- The Blades have the edge in form coming into this, having won back-to-back games.
- They are unbeaten in their two most recent away games, with a win and a draw, so will arrive in London full of confidence.
- Sheffield United have won only six of their 17 road games, however, which indicates they have a vulnerability in this fixture.
- Wilder’s team play with a back three and two wing-backs, as they are a team more suited to playing direct and winning set-pieces than passing their way out of trouble.
- But they have a high-intensity press, especially in the opposition’s half, which should ensure they can get at QPR.
Head-to-Head
This game should be a close matchup as the head-to-head record suggests with the Blades having won one of the last three meetings in the Championship and drawn two.
Key Players
- Their best player is Rumarn Burrell, who can play as either a number 10 or an out-and-out forward and has 10 goals in 26 appearances this season.
- Patrick Bamford remains their constant threat up front, having scored eight goals in his 16 appearances since returning to the club.
- Gustavo Hamer has been the creative force behind their recent upturn in form, however, providing four assists in their last five matches while Andre Brooks has hit a purple patch with three goals in that run.
Betting Insights
- The R’s are 2.9 to claim the win, but we feel the 2.32 about the away team is fairer and gives us a bit of insurance against the draw, which is 3.4.
- Over 2.5 goals looks a good option at 1.7, however, as QPR have scored 29 goals in 16 home games this season, an average of 1.81 per match, while Sheffield United have shipped 1.65 and scored 1.18 per away game.
