Fulham aim to take another step towards the Premier League in West London derby against QPR

Fulham will be looking to return to winning ways in the West London derby when they clash with QPR at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium on Saturday.

Given recent form, the international break might have come at the right time for both of these sides as we head in to the home straight of this EFL Championship campaign.

Marco Silva’s men will be aiming to end their two game winless run after they took just one point on their travels against Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion. They will have opportunities to make amends however, as they still lead by 8 points over Bournemouth at the top of the league and look almost certain to win the title and return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Meanwhile for QPR, manager Mark Warburton will be concerned his side will be dropping out of the top six race altogether. At the end of January after dismantling Reading 4-0, the Hoops were just two points off the top two. Since then, they’ve gone on to lose six out of their last 10 league games, with only two victories in that time, which has seen them slip to 8th, two points off Blackburn Rovers who currently occupy sixth spot.

Their slump in form looks set to continue if the head-to-head record is anything to go by, with the Cottagers unbeaten in their last seven league games against QPR, with the pair last meeting in October, as an Aleksandar Mitrovic brace led the divisions top scorers to a resounding 4-1 win.

The Serbian is always the main threat for the league leaders, with an astonishing 35 league goals in 35 Championship appearances speaking for itself. It’s staggering to think he has just one goal in his last four games. Harry Wilson will be another one looking to impress, as he aims to add to the 10 goals and 13 assists he’s tallied up for the season so far.

For the Rs, Andre Gray is the man inform right now, with three goals and an assist from his last four Championship appearances. Ilias Chair will also be looking to add the creativity needed in the final third to unlock the Fulham defence, but it’s safe to say he hasn’t lived up to his usual expectations since his arrival back from AFCON.

QPR will be without key man Chris Willock as he looks set to be out for the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring problem.

The goalkeeping department has been hit too with David Marshall also expected to miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, whilst Seny Dieng remains side-lined with a thigh issue, so Kieran Westwood is set to retain his place in between the sticks, after making his debut in the 3-1 home defeat to Peterborough United.

Mark Warburton will also be sweating on the fitness of Stefan Johansen and Lee Wallace, who were other absentees from the defeat a fortnight ago, but will look to welcome back Lyndon Dykes into the matchday squad. The Scotland international has missed the majority of the season with hamstring trouble himself.

For the visitors, there are no new injury concerns, but Joe Bryan may be given a start ahead of Antonee Robinson, who will just arrive back in time from securing World Cup qualification with the USA. Tom Cairney and Jean Michael Seri will also be pushing for starts as Fulham aim to get back on track.

Predicted Lineups:

QPR: (3-4-2-1) Westwood; Barbet, Dickie, Dunne; Adomah, Field, Hendrick, McCallum; Amos, Chair; Gray

Fulham: (4-2-3-1) Rodak; Williams, Adarabioyo, Ream, Bryan; Reed, Seri; Wilson, Carvalho, Decordova-Reid; Mitrovic

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