Queens Park Rangers have become a tough nut to crack under Julien Stephan and will be aiming to further showcase their Championship promotion credentials when struggling Derby County visit Loftus Road on Wednesday.
The R's have lost just once in nine league games this season and head into this match off the back of Friday night's spirited draw away at title favourites West Ham United.
Derby also drew last time out, but having led for the majority of the game, they were disappointed to concede a late equaliser against Wrexham at Pride Park.
That result left the Rams second bottom of the standings and with just one league win to their name.
Queens Park Rangers v Derby County Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw @ 29/10
Alternative Bet - Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1
Bet Builder - Glen Kamara to be booked, Kwame Poku 2+ shots & Sammie Szmodics 2+ shots @ 10/1
Queens Park Rangers v Derby County Prediction
Best Bet: Draw @ 29/10
QPR have recorded four successive bottom-half finishes in the Championship but the early signs this season suggest they can have loftier ambitions.
The R's only defeat to date came against high-flying Middlesbrough in early September and they underlined their hard-to-beat status against West Ham, with goalkeeper Pierce Charles saving a penalty in second-half stoppage time to ensure they made the journey back across London with a point.
That was QPR's fourth successive draw and they may have to settle for a point once again when Derby head to Loftus Road.
The Rams have picked up four of their six points on their travels this season, claiming their only win at Portsmouth before holding Burnley to a 1-1 draw in their last away fixture.
Having also drawn on home soil with Wrexham, John Eustace's side could be on course for a third successive share of the spoils, which would at least give them something to build on as they aim to start moving up the table.
Alternative Bet: Under 2.5 goals @ 1/1
QPR have built much of their success this season on a solid defence, as heading into the midweek action only league leaders Swansea City (7) had conceded fewer goals than their total of eight.
At the other end, scoring has not been as easy, with Stephan's men failing to net more than two goals in a game since a 3-1 victory at Portsmouth on the opening weekend.
With key creative players Ilias Chair and Karamoko Dembele again expected to miss this game, it is difficult to see where the goals are going to come from for QPR, although the same is true of Derby.
The Rams have only scored eight goals in nine Championship games and three of their last four have gone under the 2.5-goal mark.
It did finish 3-2 to Derby when these two teams last met at Loftus Road in April, but that is something of an outlier, with 16 of the last 20 head-to-heads featuring fewer than three goals.
Queens Park Rangers v Derby County Bet Builder Tip
Glen Kamara to be booked
Kwame Poku 2+ shots
Sammie Szmodics 2+ shots
Pays 10/1
Defensive midfielder Glen Kamara has given away more fouls (11) than any QPR player this season and after picking up three bookings in his last five games, he could feel the wrath of the referee once again.
On a more positive note for QPR, winger Kwame Poku is picking up some of the attacking slack in Chair and Dembele's absence, firing off 20 shots in his last six Championship appearances, nine of which came in the R’s most recent home match against Preston North End.
If Poku is not afraid to shoot for QPR, then the same is true of Derby's Sammie Szmodics, whose confidence will be soaring after he netted his third league goal of the season against Wrexham.
Szmodics has had at least three shots in each of his last four appearances and it is easy to forget he was the Championship's leading scorer in 2023/24 when he fired home 27 goals for Blackburn Rovers.
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Key Match Stats
QPR have lost just once in nine Championship games this season
The R's have drawn each of their last four matches
Ahead of the midweek action, QPR boasted the second-best defensive record in the Championship
Derby have won just once in the league this season but they have drawn their last two games
The Rams did the double over QPR last season
There have been fewer than three goals scored in 16 of the last 20 head-to-heads
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
