Leicester City will be keen to continue pulling away at the top of the Championship standings when they take on QPR
Leicester City are the team to beat in the EFL Championship this season and showcased their credentials with a hard-fought win over Sunderland midweek and will hope to keep the run going against QPR.
Enzo Maresca’s men were not at their best against the Black Cats but still found a way to convert a draw into a win. The victory saw the Foxes retain their five-point lead over second-placed Ipswich Town, albeit having played a game more.
With 12 victories from their opening 13 games, Leicester City are holding true to their expectations and looks set to return to the top flight. QPR, meanwhile are second from bottom and will have hopes of retaining their status as a Championship side.
Gareth Ainsworth’s side are on a five-game losing streak and will need to dig deep to secure anything against the Foxes. Maresca, on the other hand, has options and will be keen to rotate his squad around given the heavy list of fixtures.
Leicester City have been truly sensational away from home and will be aiming to become the first side since Birmingham City in the 19th century to win nine consecutive away games in the Championship. Unless QPR play out of their skins, the Foxes will shatter another record this weekend. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on Sunday and what tactics they might employ.
Team News & Tactics
Queens Park Rangers
A sneak peek of Saturday’s programme 📘
Available online or around the ground 🏟@IgnitionSportsM 🤝
— QPR FC (@QPR) October 27, 2023
QPR have lost their last five games on the spin and are second from bottom in the Championship standings. They are six points off safety and can dig themselves into a deeper hole if results do not pick up.
Facing Leicester at this time could go either way for the home side. They could pull off a shock and rally behind it to salvage their season or suffer yet another defeat in front of their own fans, further denting their hopes of securing another season in the second flight.
The home side will be without Jake Clarke-Salter, Morgan Fox and Steve Cook, all of whom are out injured. Jimmy Dunne is suspended for the night and will not be available. A 5-4-1 appears to be the solution for the night as QPR aim to do damage control. While it might not be the best approach against a side like Leicester, the home side’s options are rather limited.
Asmir Begovic should start in goal behind the centre-back trio of Osman Kakay, Reggie Cannon and Sam Field, while Paul Smyth and Kenneth Paal will hope to burst forward and provide width.
The quartet of Sinclair Armstrong, Andre Dozzell, Jack Colback and Ilias Chair will hope to keep things tight and keep their Leicester counterparts quiet. Lyndon Dykes should lead the line and will hope to catch the Leicester rearguard by surprise.
Probable Lineup (5-4-1): Begovic; Smyth, Kakay, Cannon, Field, Paal; Armstrong, Dozzell, Colback, Chair; Dykes
Leicester City
The Foxes are the team to beat in the Championship this season. Enzo Maresca will be expected to make changes to the side as games continue to come thick and fast.
Leicester will be without Callum Doyle, Thomas Cannon, Wilfred Ndidi and Dennis Praet, all of whom are out injured. Yunus Akgun and Kasey McAteer are both also doubt was they continue to recover from injuries.
McAteer is likely to retain his 4-3-3 formation and will keep the core of his squad intact. Mads Hermansen should retain his spot as the reliable last line of defence for the Foxes behind the back four of James Justin, Wout Faes, Jannik Vestergaard and Hamza Choudhury.
On taking on QPR:
“It’s a tricky game, probably the perfect game for them. After five defeats in a row, Leicester is coming. It’s a big game, it’s a big game for us and a tough one for sure.” pic.twitter.com/x2FMoESfly
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 27, 2023
Harry Winks continues to impress in midfield and will retain his spot at the base of the three-man setup alongside Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei is expected to return to the XI with Wilfred Ndidi dropping to the bench.
Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Stephy Mavididi should start out wide, with Jamie Vardy starting up front. The veteran will be keen to add to his tally as he once again aims to take the Foxes back to the top flight.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Hermansen; Justin, Vestergaard, Faes, Choudhury; Casadei, Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Vardy, Mavididi
Key Stats
- Leicester City and QPR are set to face each other in the league for the first time since the 2014/15 season.
- The last time both sides met each other in the second tier was in 2013/14, where the Foxes did the double over QPR.
- QPR have won just one of their last 20 home games.
- A win on Saturday will see Leicester City become just the fifth side to win their opening seven away games in the league across England’s top four tiers.
- A win this weekend will see Leicester City become the second side in Championship history to win nine straight away games. The only other side to do so was Birmingham City in 1897/98.
Player to Watch
Harry Winks
The summer signing has been a revelation at the base of the Foxes midfield and remains a key component in Enzo Maresca’s tactics. He will once again be the lynchpin who will form the crux of Leicester’s dominance on the ball.
His ability to connect the defence to the attack is something that QPR will need to contain if they are keen to cut off delivery to the Foxes forwards. In that aspect, Winks is the main cog and how he plays on the night should dictate how the game turns out.
Prediction
QPR 0- 2 Leicester City
QPR go into the game as massive underdogs and anything they can secure on the night will need a monumental effort. Leicester City are the team in form and will start the match on the front foot. Nothing less than a convincing win will do for the Championship hopefuls on the night.
