In a vital top six clash Queens Park Rangers will welcome Bournemouth to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as the London outfit look to make life a little more comfortable for themselves inside the play-off area just as the Cherries aim to keep on the heels of Fulham.
QPR are in a strange position right now where they currently sit in a healthy fifth position ahead of 2022 and with a one-point gap on Nottingham Forest, who have been gradually chipping away at the top six for some time.
🔜 B̶o̶x̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶D̶a̶y̶ Bank Holiday in W12.Who's with us on Monday? 🙋#QPR | #QPRBOU— QPR FC (@QPR) December 23, 2021
🔜 B̶o̶x̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶D̶a̶y̶ Bank Holiday in W12.Who's with us on Monday? 🙋#QPR | #QPRBOU
However, Mark Warburton’s men now have two games in hand following their postponements in the Championship and should they get all six points from these two games, the club would move ahead of West Bromwich Albion in fourth and be one point behind Blackburn Rovers in third.
If they can get all points from these games, the club would rattle the structure of the top six in the second tier of English football, and even the high-flying sides like Bournemouth and Fulham will be looking over their shoulders at the potential threat of this impressive QPR side.
The R’s have already won 10 games from the 21 available, drawing five and losing the other six, which just about sums up how wild the play-off places are in the Championship already this season.
Moreover, they’ve scored 33 goals and let in 27, which means it’s been relatively topsy-turvy for them at either end of the field.
It'll be three weeks since QPR's last game of the season when they host the Cherries, and they actually lost to Stoke City right next to them in the table in that game. However, it did end a six-game unbeaten run for them, with the club winning four of these games.
As for Bournemouth, they remain a point behind Fulham as they continue to go neck-and-neck with the Cottagers in pursuit of their return to the Premier League.
However, the club must not lose to QPR here, given that their two games in hand would bring them very close to the Cherries if the results go in their favour.
Unlike QPR, however, Scott Parker's men have been playing each week still and at the same time, are now six games without a win having lost to Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, and Middlesbrough in this time, as well as racking up three other draws, including a 1-1 with Fulham.
It’s set to be a very close game and given the torrid form of Parker’s side and QPR’s break, Forebet predicts a draw that will see under 2.5 goals.