QPR vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-04-06 14:00.
Turn back time to October 22nd and you’ll find Queens Park Rangers had just beaten Wigan 2-1 to rise to the summit of the Championship table. Fast-forward to the current day and QPR’s 1-0 loss to Wigan last time out somehow finds them sitting just three points above the relegation zone in 19th place!
What happened in between? Well, just two wins in the 23 league games since (D6, L15) and two sacked managers later, current head coach Gareth Ainsworth must now solely focus on preserving the Hoops’ Championship status. Before his time, one of their wins in this dreadful run was a 1-0 victory over opponents Preston North End, but securing the league-double will be doubly difficult here considering they’ve only won two of the last seven home H2Hs (D1, L4).
Preston will be desperate to capitalise once again at Loftus Road, as they refuse to surrender the war for a coveted playoff spot after winning three of their last four matches (L1). Their 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Blackpool at the weekend means they trail the top-six by just five points now with seven games to go, after the five teams above them all failed to win on the same day!
The Lilywhites will be confident they can close the gap even further having secured the majority of their points on the road this campaign (32 away vs 24 at home). What’s been even more profitable than their travels is getting off to a good start, as Preston have only dropped points once when netting the match opener this season (W12, L1).
Key battle: Defender Jimmy Dunne has proved the difference in QPR’s last three encounters with Preston (W2, L1), having scored in both wins and netted an own goal in the lone defeat. His primary job will be to mark fellow Irishman Thomas Cannon, who’s five goal contributions (G4, A1) for new club Preston have all come in his last seven matches.
Hot stat: No team has conceded more goals (34) and found themselves losing in more matches (19) by half-time than QPR this Championship season!