QPR vs Derby Predictions

Saturday’s Championship faceoff between Queens Park Rangers and Derby County promises to be a contest of special significance for Hoops boss Steve McClaren.

McClaren has a long-running association with Derby, having held three separate jobs at the club. The 57-year old was a member of the Rams’ playing staff in the mid-80s before taking an Assistant Manager role at the club in the late 90s. McClaren then had two stints as Manager this decade.

This weekend against Derby, McClaren’s QPR side are looking to build on the momentum of their 1-0 mid-week win away at Reading. Toni Leistner’s second half strike was enough to earn the Hoops the points and the impressive result also brought a three-game losing run to an end.

Leistner’s strike was also the first goal QPR had scored in four games and finding a regular route to goal has often been a struggle for Rangers this season. QPR are the joint lowest scorers in the Championship so far this campaign, having hit the net just eight times in eleven games.

QPR patchy start to the 2018/19 season means they are sitting way down in 17^th place in the table, though it’s interesting to note that they are closer to the playoff spots than the relegation zone in terms of points.

The Hoops are full nine places below Derby in the current standings, though they can move to within a point of the Rams if they can beat them on Saturday. Frank Lampard has been receiving plenty of plaudits for his start in club football management, though some of the praise has been a little over enthusiastic.

Derby’s brilliant penalty shootout win against Manchester United at Old Trafford has helped to gloss over what’s been an underwhelming few weeks in the Championship. The Rams disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Norwich on Wednesday means that they have won just once in five in the league since early September.

Like QPR, Derby have had trouble in the goalscoring department – they have failed to score in three of their last four league matches. Away from home, Lampard has been struggling to find a formula that works and Derby have lost three of their last four Championship fixtures on the road.

With neither side fully flowing at present, we’re tipping their meeting at Loftus Road on Saturday to be a tense, tight affair. The last time the teams met, back in March at the same venue, the teams finished level at 1-1. We’re predicting a similar outcome this weekend.

Saturday’s clash looks like being low on penalty area drama too. As we touched on earlier, QPR are the joint lowest scorers in the Championship and four of the Hoops last five fixtures finished with under 2.5 goals scored in them. Four of Derby’s most recent five league matches also saw less than 2.5 goals registered in them.

With both sides finding it difficult to find fluidity in the final third, we think there’s great value to be had in the under 2.5 goal market again for this one. Finally, our correct score prediction forecasts a 1-1 draw between Steve McClaren’s new club and his old one.