QPR vs West Bromwich Albion: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

These two teams endured contrasting seasons last year, but we expect this to be a tight game to open up the campaign. QPR are looking to improve on an 18th place finish, whilst West Brom will fight for promotion once more. We are backing the visitors, West Brom to just edge this game and get their season off to the perfect start. The Baggies are unbeaten in their last four games against QPR, and this streak is likely to continue this weekend.

However, they have not kept a clean sheet in their last five games, giving QPR the opportunity to provide a threat to their backline. New QPR signing Zan Celar will look to hit the ground running after scoring 14 goals for Lugano last season, and he should be a good bet for a shot on target. He averaged 2.3 shots per game, with 0.9 on target for his former side.

Similarly, new West Brom acquisition Devante Cole will be hopeful of getting off to a hot start. He scored 18 goals last season for Barnsley, with an average of one shot on target per game. We are backing him to help his team get off to a winning start – QPR 1-2 West Brom

QPR welcome West Bromwich Albion to Loftus Road for their opening game of the new Championship season.

• Date: 10/08/24
• Kick-off time: 12:30
• Venue: Loftus Road

After a disappointing 18th place finish for QPR last season, they will be desperately hoping for an improvement in the league standings. They finished just six points outside of the relegation zone, but ended the campaign strongly, with three wins in a row. This included an impressive 4-0 over promotion hopefuls Leeds.

This will be the 10th consecutive season in the Championship for the Hoops following their relegation in 2015. They have gone through six different managers in this span, with Marti Cifuentes set to take charge of his second season. The highest they have finished is ninth, with them unlikely to mount a playoff push in the imminent future. They seriously struggled offensively, with just 47 goals on the year. Only Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday scored less. As a result, they have brought in attacking reinforcements to bolster their front line, most notably Zan Celar from FC Lugano. The Slovenian striker has scored 30 goals across the last two seasons.

They will be hosting a West Brom team who will be looking to avenge their playoff defeat to Southampton last season. Albion finished the year in fifth, and will once again be in the fight for the top six. This will be their fifth season in the second tier in the last six seasons, and are heading into their third under current boss Carlos Corberan.

Corberan coached a very solid defensive side, in fact, the second best in the division behind Champions Leicester City. However, they were not the most potent in front of goal among the top sides, with 70 goals scored. Brandon Thomas-Asante was their top scorer last year with 11 goals, though he has since left the club.

The Baggies ended pre-season with four consecutive losses, so this could give QPR an opportunity to pose a threat, though they themselves are winless in three. This could make for a tight game, as both look to get their seasons off to a positive start.

Historically, West Brom have been the superior side in terms of head-to-head. In 54 meetings, Albion have won 24 to QPR’s 17, with 13 draws. They have met 10 times since 2018, a stretch which has been largely dominated by West Brom. The Baggies lost just once in this time, a 1-0 defeat in 2022. This includes a current four-game unbeaten streak, with a win and draw last season. The victory came at home in October, as they won 2-0. Against 10 men, goals from Thomas-Asante and Grady Diangana secured the three points. The reverse fixture resulted in a 2-2 draw, in which both sides squandered a lead.

QPR vs West Bromwich Albion will be available to watch on Sky Sports+.

QPR

New signing Zan Celar made his first start for the club in the final pre-season game, and will expect to play a role in the opener. Ilias Chair, Lyndon Dykes and Morgan Fox missed out through injury, so the availability of all three is in question.

West Brom

West Brom have made a number of signings who will hope to make an immediate impact, including Torbjorn Heggem and Ousmane Diakite. Expect Josh Maja and Devante Cole to get minutes up front replacing the departed Brandon Thomas-Asante.

QPR:

In their last five games, QPR have won two and lost three. It has been an inconsistent stretch for QPR as their preparations have ramped up ahead of the Championship season. They began this run with a game against Andorran side Santa Coloma, winning 2-0. Ilias Chair and Michael Frey got the goals either side of half-time.

They followed this with a thumping 11-0 win over L’Escala. They were 4-0 up at half-time as Harry Murphy bagged a brace. Chair scored a hat-trick, whilst Hevertton Santos (x2), Daniel Bennie and Sinclair Armstrong found the net to complete the scoring.

Tottenham were their next opponents, in a big step-up in quality. The North Londoners were 2–0 winners, with goals coming from Yves Bissouma and Dane Scarlett. They lost a second in a row against Reading. Femi Azeez scored the only goal of the game shortly into the second half. Their latest game was against Brighton, in which they lost 1-0 at home.

West Brom:

In their last five games, West Brom have won one and lost four. It has been a difficult pre-season for West Brom as they prepare for the new season. This continued in their final game as they lost 4-1 to Birmingham away from home.

This run started with a meeting against League One Bolton Wanderers, in which they lost 2-1. They took a lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante, but could not hold on as their opponents turned it around either side of the break. The Baggies were on the right side of this scoreline against Peterborough in their next game. Thomas-Asante scored once more, and an own goal turned out to be the winner.

A 2-1 defeat to Blackpool followed, before they hosted Spanish side Mallorca. They fell 1-0 to their La Liga opponents.

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