Rotherham United welcome in-form Queens Park Rangers in pivotal relegation fixture

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Queens Park Rangers travel to the New York Stadium looking to continue their fine form bridging a gap between themselves and their relegation rivals.

The two sides both find themselves in similar situations in and around the bottom half of the table in recent months, but both teams have found form as of late picking up significant points to uplift their club’s from the dreaded relegation battle.

The two sides played out an enthralling 3-2 encounter in November where QPR come out on top as they sailed into a two-goal lead during added time of the first-half as Bright Osayi-Samuel and Lyndon Dykes gave the West London club a 3-1 advantage going into the break. 

The Millers scored a consolation goal in the 84th minute through Freddie Ladapo but it was not enough to take three points away from Mark Warburton’s side.

Rotherham come off the back of a 2-1 loss to Cardiff City who recently had a managerial change as Mick McCarthy took the hot-seat after Neil Harris departed the club.

Sheyi Ojo opened the scoring before Matt Crooks levelled the scoreline near the hour mark as the Yorkshire club pushed to pick up three consecutive wins.

Despite dominating large periods of the game, the Millers fell short when experienced figure Joe Bennett sealed all three points just five minutes before the final whistle.

Paul Warne’s side will be keen to respond after their recent loss and avoid being overtaken by fellow relegation battling sides. United sit in 20th on 29 points after failing to win their game in hand.

As for QPR, they continued their impressive turn of the year as they beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 on home soil last weekend when Yoann Barbet’s strike was enough to claim all three points.

The game was a cagey affair where Rangers dominated the ball for long periods but lacked any real cutting edge, it was Rovers who looked most likely of scoring when Adam Armstrong saw his efforts saved by a superb Seny Dieng.

In the end, it was a set-piece that caused Tony Mowbray’s side all sorts of issues when Morrocan magician Ilias Chair floated his free-kick into the penalty area, the ball fell to Geoff Cameron whose effort was deflected into the path of Barbet who cooly side-footed his effort beyond the Rovers goalkeeper.

Mark Warburton’s side continued to build a gap between themselves and the bottom three as they currently sit in 16th in the league on 33 points, five points ahead of 21st but only three off 12th.

Team News

Rotherham United

The Millers will be without Joe Mattock (Ankle) and Chiedozie Ogbene (Knee) who are both out with long-term injuries until the start of the 2021/22 season.

Paul Warne will be without his number one goalkeeper this weekend as Jamal Blackman is also sidelined after suffering from COVID-19.

There are no suspensions throughout the Rotherham United squad.

Queens Park Rangers

The visitors will be without Luke Amos and Charlie Owens for the remainder of the season with their respected ACL and knee injuries.

Tom Carroll will also miss the game with an injury which could see the English out until the later stages of the season.

There are no suspensions that would hamper the capital side.

Rotherham United latest form – W, L, W, W, L

Queens Park Rangers latest form – W, W, L, W, W

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