A struggling Middlesbrough side welcome Queens Park Rangers to the Riverside Stadium on Sunday at 2pm in a highly anticipated and must-win match for the home side.
The Boro are desperate to escape the relegation zone and will be looking to take advantage of the R’s poor form as of late.
Neil Warnock’s side have been less than average since the restart, recording a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Swansea, a red card-assisted 2-0 win over Stoke, and a cruel 2-1 loss against Hull City where they fell to a 91st minute winner.
QPR, on the other hand, have managed to be even worse since the season started up again. Losing to Fulham, Charlton and Barnsley, Mark Warburton’s side have looked less than convincing especially considering the latter two of those teams are fighting to avoid relegation.
Previous Meetings
9th November 2019 – QPR 2-2 Middlesbrough – Championship
23rd February 2019 – Middlesbrough 2-0 QPR – Championship
15th December 2018 – QPR 2-1 Middlesbrough – Championship
This fixture has been remarkably even over the years with both sides winning 18 matches as well as holding each other to 16 draws.
Team News
Both teams have a clean bill of health and the managers have a full
complement of players to choose for this one.
QPR’s Geoff Cameron and Bright Osayi-Samuel and Boro’s Adam Clayton will all have to be wary of their behaviour on the pitch as any slip up will likely result in a suspension as they are all just one card away from being disciplined.
Prediction
QPR have very little to play for in this match as they are safely sitting in mid-table and are unlikely to fall into a relegation battle or fight for promotion. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are desperately trying to escape the drop zone into League One, where they haven’t been a part of since 1987. For this reason, the home side will go into it with everything they have and will scrape a tight victory.
Middlesbrough 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Match Preview written by Owen Lloyd.