Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Championship match.
One of the headline early-season surprises in the Championship has been Stoke City, who have surged into second place. Staying there will be difficult, but it is feasible. They get another chance to pick up points at Loftus Road against Queens Park Rangers.
Queens Park Rangers
Queens Park Rangers need to avoid a repeat of last autumn, when they slid to the foot of the standings and seemed unlikely to get out of trouble. Thanks to the board’s patience and the experience of Martí Cifuentes, the team ultimately pulled clear with room to spare, but the coach is no longer at the club. The task now falls to Julien Stéphan, who has been at the helm since the summer. The start is relatively solid — 12th place with two wins. The quality of the defending should worry the staff: for a mid-table side, conceding 12 is too much. The positive is that Queens Park Rangers have scored nine.
Stoke City
Stoke City are towards the top in part because of their defensive reliability, with only three conceded. They even kept clean sheets in two matches. Away from home they beat Southampton (2:1), despite being down to ten men from the 59th minute. Southampton could easily have taken a point, as they created chances worth 2.59 xG against Viktor Johansson.
Queens Park Rangers vs Stoke City Prediction
With a perfect away record, Stoke City should fancy at least a draw, especially as this fixture at Loftus Road finished 1:1 late last autumn. We are taking the Double Chance on the visitors.
