Preview: Queens Park Rangers vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

At a time when the home side sit in 23rd position in the standings, Watford are 10th despite their recent drop off in form.

Match preview

The honeymoon period for Marti Cifuentes at QPR has well and truly come and gone with the recently-appointed head coach now realising the magnitude of his task at Loftus Road.

Since a three-match winning streak, QPR have failed to post a victory in any competition since December 9, collecting just two points from six games in the Championship.

To their credit, the Hoops have not conceded more than twice in any of those fixtures, but just two goals have been scored at the other end of the pitch.

Last weekend, a surprise upturn in fortunes appeared to be on the cards in the FA Cup when QPR went two goals up against Bournemouth, only to see the Premier League outfit overturn matters and prevail by a 3-2 scoreline.

While QPR can now focus on league matters, confidence is diminishing within this squad, and a response is required if they are to avoid being cut adrift from 21st place and above.

Valerien Ismael will also be disappointed with the recent performances of his Watford players, with just two wins coming from seven Championship games.

A 4-1 defeat at home to Bristol City was followed by draws against Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle respectively, before Chesterfield almost pulled off the FA Cup upset of the round last weekend.

The National League outfit were leading at Vicarage Road heading into the final quarter, only for the Hornets to turn things around and win 2-1 courtesy of a 95th-minute goal.

Remarkably, Watford have now been involved in 10 successive games where goals have been scored at either end, and Ismael will hope that changes for the better as he bids to keep the club in playoff contention.

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

D

L

L

L

D

L

Queens Park Rangers form (all competitions):

L

L

L

D

L

L

Watford Championship form:

L

W

W

L

D

D

Watford form (all competitions):

W

W

L

D

D

W

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Team News

With the likes of Steve Cook, Jack Colback and Ilias Chair unavailable, Cifuentes may opt against making any major alterations to his QPR side.

If Sinclair Armstrong keeps his spot down the centre of the attack, Ziyad Larkeche may be the player to miss out on the left.

Jake Clarke-Salter could be brought back into the team to replace Morgan Fox at centre-back.

Having made a number of changes for the Chesterfield game, Ismael will likely restore several players to the Watford XI.

However, Mileta Rajovic may keep his spot ahead of Vakoun Bayo, who is available after suspension, while Edo Kayembe is injured after picking up an issue while on international duty earlier this week.

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Begovic; Cannon, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Dixon-Bonner, Field, Dozzell; Smyth, Armstrong, Dykes

Watford possible starting lineup:

Hamer; Andrews, Porteous, Hoedt, Morris; Dele-Bashiru, Livermore, Kone; Martins, Rajovic, Chakvetadze

We say: Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Watford

With both clubs having failed to impress of late, any result is possible, and QPR will hope that playing at home will help their cause. Nevertheless, we have to back Watford who will feel that they have a bit of momentum in their favour after the manner of their FA Cup win.

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