The Bees look to return to winning ways as they travel to West London rivals QPR

In-form Queens Park Rangers will host a Brentford side determined to make amends after their loss to Barnsley at the weekend.

The loss ensured Thomas Franks’ side slipped to second in the table.

QPR find themselves in fine form as they have only lost one fixture since the turn of the year.  Their significant points haul means that Mark Warburton’s side has stayed clear of a relegation battle thus far this season.

They beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0 on home soil last time out. Yoann Barbet’s strike was enough to claim all three points as they stood resolute to Blackburn’s high scoring forward Adam Armstrong.

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

In the end, it was a set-piece that caused Tony Mowbray’s side 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. He cooly side-footed his effort beyond the Rovers goalkeeper.

Mark Warburton’s side have now  built a gap between themselves and the bottom three. They currently sit in 16th in the league on 33 points, five points ahead of 21st but only three off 12th. Their weekend fixture against Rotherham was cancelled due to a frozen pitch so the West London club will be well-rested for this London Derby.

As for Brentford, their unbeaten streak that goes back to the middle of October was ended on Saturday as Barnsley beat the Bees 2-0. The goals came courtesy of Conor Chapin and ex-Norwich player Carlton Morris.

Valerien Ismael’s Barnsley stepped onto Brentford;s ‘turf’ as they decided to press high from the start of the match, and despite having the majority of possession Thomas Frank’s side struggled to create many clear cut goalscoring opportunities.

Chaplin riggled free of Ethan Pinnock in the penalty area as a beautifully weighted cross was whipped into a dangerous area just a matter of yards away from the goal line. The scorer calmly guided the cross into the net as he gave the Tykes an early lead on the 13th minute.

Brentford have found it hard to get starting in games as of late. Manager Frank has put this down to the intense fixture list that is starting to catch up with his squad after several first-team players currently find themselves on the injury list.

It was the same issue in the second half, and the Tykes scored once again three minutes after the break. Ethan Pinnock added to his earlier mistake when he tripped over an oncoming ball into the box which left Morris free. He smashed home his first goal since moving to Barnsley in January.

Brentford will hope not to dwell on Sunday’s loss with the quick turnaround of fixtures. The result saw the Bees dropped to second in the table, just one point behind League Leaders Norwich. Swansea are four behind them on 53, however the Welsh club do have two games in hand.

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 Englishman out until the later stages of the season.

There are no suspensions that to hamper the Shephers Bush side.

Brentford

Brentford manager Thomas Frank will be unable to call upon Swedish centre-back Pontus Jansson and midfielder Shandon Baptiste who are out with injuries.

Doubts remain over whether Norwegian Christian Norgaard and attacking midfielder Emiliano Marcondes will be fit in time for Wednesday’s fixture.

There are no suspensions in the Brentford squad.

Last Meeting

The two sides met earlier in the season at the Brentford Community Stadium, where Rangers lost 2-1. Vitaly Janelt opened the scoring for Brentford when his effort flew into the bottom left-hand corner of Dieng’s goal from distance.

Scotland international Lyndon Dykes levelled the scoreline after brilliant wing play by Bright Osayi-Samuel before Ivan Toney scored the winner in the second half when he connected with an inviting free-kick.

It was a fixture which saw Warburton’s side come away from the game feeling hard done by as Mads Sørensen somehow avoided a red card when he brought down Dykes who was through on goal.

It was a defining moment in the game as QPR were on top and asking a lot of questions of their rivals. Rangers will be looking for redemption when they welcome Brentford on Wednesday.

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

Brentford latest form : W, W, W, W, L

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