Queens Park Rangers have been on an excellent run of form over the past few weeks under head coach Marti Cifuentes and one EFL pundit expects this to continue on Wednesday night.
When the Spanish coach took the job back in October, QPR were on a nine-game winless run in the Championship, having lost six straight league matches while also sitting second from bottom, six points from safety.
Now, following a run of three consecutive victories, the London outfit are outside the relegation zone for the first time since September. Former manager Gareth Ainsworth’s final match in charge of Queens Park Rangers came in a 2-1 home defeat to Leicester City earlier in the season and Saturday’s victory in the reverse fixture proved that the side have completely reversed their fortunes.
Out-foxing the league leaders 🦊 pic.twitter.com/jWsPsYoHUE
— QPR FC (@QPR) March 3, 2024
Furthermore, Cifuentes has been in charge for 21 matches in the Championship and QPR are averaging 1.43 points per game under the former Hammarby boss. This means they are projected to finish on 54 points which could guarantee safety in May.
Next up for the Hoops is yet another tricky fixture at Loftus Road as West Bromwich Albion come to town on a three-game unbeaten streak of their own. This clash presents another opportunity for Cifuentes’ men to move one step closer to securing survival in England’s second tier.
Meanwhile, the Baggies are four points clear of seventh place and need to win to avoid losing ground in their pursuit of promotion. However, EFL pundit and former ex-Leeds United man David Prutton believes the hosts will upset the apple cart by taking two points from the promotion hopefuls.
Writing in his EFL predictions column for Sky Sports, Prutton has called a 2-2 draw in this important tie for both clubs:
“QPR have won three on the bounce, but this is nowhere near job done yet. What a result at Leicester it was for them, though. If that doesn’t give them that extra lift to really push on out of trouble then nothing will
“West Brom were really good in that win over Coventry on Friday night. They have so much threat, and in Mikey Johnston, they have got a real star for the rest of the season. But with QPR in such good nick, I do feel this will be spoils shared.”
Writer’s View
When Cifuentes first took over at Queens Park Rangers, the side looked destined for League One, but now the London club are hitting form at the perfect time and Saturday’s win away at the league leaders represented a complete shift in the club’s fortunes.
Nevertheless, things can change so quickly in such an unforgiving division. QPR are still only outside the bottom three on goal difference so a defeat could easily cause the side to slip back inside the dreaded bottom three. Cifuentes will be making sure his players don’t get complacent to avoid undoing all their great work.