Queens Park Rangers’ Loftus Road troubles continued last weekend against Hertfordshire outfit Watford in the Championship, as a Jake Livermore double in the second half condemned the hosts to another defeat at their West London home, despite a late consolation from Scotland international Lyndon Dykes.
Following a promising four-game unbeaten run near the beginning of Marti Cifuentes’s spell as QPR head coach, the R’s are now eight games without a win across the Championship and FA Cup since 16 December, meaning there was little festive or New Year’s cheer for Saturday’s hosts.
Collecting two points from the last 21 available in the league, QPR are currently occupying 23rd position in the second-tier standings, five points behind Darren Moore’s Huddersfield Town in the relative safety of 21st, and just three points ahead of bottom side Rotherham United.
The attacking talents of Ilias Chair and Chris Willock will be imperative as the R’s look to avoid third-tier football next season, with the forward duo often being the sole providers of creativity in the forward line, combining for nine goal contributions so far this term.
QPR’s poor record at Loftus Road extends further back than the three consecutive losses at the beginning of 2024, with Saturday’s hosts earning just nine points from their 13 home league matches to date, six points fewer than any other side in the Championship, scoring on only 12 occasions.
Millwall’s five-game unbeaten run in the Championship came to a disappointing end at The Den last Saturday, when Michael Carrick’s promotion-chasing Middlesbrough arrived in
the capital and produced a spirited comeback to escape to their Teesside home with maximum points.Lions’ wing-back Joe Bryan knows a fair bit about earning promotion from this level thanks to his time at Fulham, and the
30-year-old had the hosts ahead after 10 minutes, but strikes from Lukas Engel, Isaiah Jones and substitute Marcus Forss turned the game on its head for the visitors.
links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
After seriously pushing for a top-six finish under Gary Rowett last season, Millwall have the remit of avoiding a relegation battle with Joe Edwards in charge this term, and the Lions sit 16th in the Championship table, possessing a comforting 10-point advantage over 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday.
The eight-point gap between Edwards’s side and sixth-placed Coventry City is by no means unassailable, but the Lions will need their attacking players to start hitting the peaks of last season, with Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming netting just eight goals between them this term after scoring 32 combined in 2022-23.
Addressing a lack of options in defence, Millwall confirmed the loan signing of Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Japhet Tanganga on Thursday as the club’s first January arrival, with the 24-year-old bringing Premier League and Champions League experience from his first-team days in North London
