Queens Park Rangers travel to Coventry City with both sides amidst an intense promotion battle

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Queens Park Rangers will be looking to continue their rampant run of form on Saturday, but this will be no easy feat, as they face a rejuvenated Coventry City side who are trying to make up for the lost time in the ever-changing race for play-offs.

Mark Warburton’s side have won both of their Championship matches since the turn of the year, propelling themselves to fourth place in the process. In their last game, they dismantled an out of form West Brom team, who have fallen away from the top two in recent weeks.

An 89th minute Charlie Austin header gave QPR all three points as the 32-year-old connected with a Chris Willock delivery to shatter the dreams of his former employers.

The Hoops are perfectly poised in the top six, sitting three points ahead of Huddersfield Town in seventh, with a superior goal difference, and only five points off Bournemouth in second, making them outside candidates for automatic promotion.

Furthermore, QPR’s promotion hopes are strengthened by the fact they have games in hand on those above them, with third-placed Blackburn Rovers only five points ahead of them having played two games more.

Ahead of their encounter at the Coventry Building Society Arena, the visitors will be without Ilias Chair, Seny Dieng and Osman Kakay as they are all away at the African Cup of Nations. The latter may have been a part of the Sierra Leone side that were eliminated from the competition on Thursday, however, he is unlikely to be back in time for the weekend.

The Sky Blues, on the other hand, have strengthened over the last week. Mark Robins’ side secured the services of Jake Bidwell from fellow Championship outfit Swansea City as the experienced left-back signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Coventry on Monday.

Last time out, the West Midlands outfit put an end to their six-game winless streak, running riot against relegation-threatened Peterborough United, emerging 4-1 victors at the Weston Homes Stadium.

A Nathan Thompson own goal, a strike from Gustavo Hamer and a brace from talisman Matt Godden doomed Darren Fergusson’s side to another defeat and kept them in the relegation zone.

In the reverse fixture, QPR maintained their unbeaten start to the season beating Coventry comfortably. The Rs netted twice after the hour-mark through Lyndon Dykes and Yoann Barbet.

A similar result this time around would see the Hoops pile the pressure onto Blackburn, who tasted defeat at Hull City on Wednesday and face a tough test against Chris Wilder’s in-form Middlesbrough.

Moreover, a Coventry triumph would see them move up to eighth ahead of Stoke City with at least two games in hand on those above them.

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