Queens Park Rangers vs Brentford. Sky Bet Championship.
Loftus Road StadiumAttendance15,562.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm on Monday; kick-off is at 7.45pm
Monday 28 October 2019 21:55, UK
QPR face Brentford in the Sky Bet Championship on Monday, live on Sky Sports Football.
QPR boss Mark Warburton will be without joint-top goalscorer Jordan Hugill for the west London derby against Brentford on Monday. The on-loan West Ham striker scored his seventh Sky Bet Championship goal of the season during the 2-2 draw against Reading on Tuesday, but also picked up his fifth booking of the campaign so will be suspended for the Bees clash.
Hugill replaced Bright Osayi-Samuel in the starting line-up against Reading, so the 21-year-old winger is likely to be restored in attack. Warburton has no other injury or suspension worries but may rotate his squad against Brentford, with Todd Kane coming on for Angel Rangel at half-time on Tuesday evening just one option.
Brentford head coach Thomas Frank may stick with an unchanged line-up for the short trip to The Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as they search for their third successive win. Young midfielders Josh Da Silva and Bryan Mbeumo rewarded Frank's faith in them with a goal apiece during their 3-0 win at Swansea after making an impact off the bench against Millwall last weekend.
Striker Nikos Karelis was carried off on a stretcher with an injury to his right knee as he made his debut against Millwall and will remain sidelined with his problem still unclear. Defender Luka Racic has returned to full training but is unlikely to be risked having not played since August, while Sergi Canos (knee) is a long-term absentee.
QPR were twice pegged back by Reading on Tuesday as the Royals secured a much-needed 2-2 draw in west London. Goals haven't been hard to come by in the R's recent weeks, though Mark Warburton's side have shipped their fair share; they beat Hull 3-2 at the KCOM last Saturday and ran out 4-2 winners at home to Blackburn two weeks earlier.
Brentford, meanwhile, appear to be in the midst of a purple patch at present having turned in a slick attacking display in Wales in midweek, cruising to a 3-0 win against Swansea, which came after a dramatic stoppage-time win over Millwall last weekend. Thomas Frank's men have lost just one of their last six league games, too.
Though their paths never crossed at Griffin Park, QPR boss Mark Warburton and defender Yoann Barbet face their former employers on Monday in what is sure to be a sour reunion. Warburton led Brentford to the Championship in 2014, but left a year later due to Matthew Benham's management restructure and insistence on recruitment driven by statistics.
Barbet, 26, was a player signed under the new regime during the summer of 2015 who went on to prosper in west London after a difficult start. He rejected a new deal with the club in the close season and made the short trip to Shepherd's Bush, where the Bees plan to bring more than 2,000 travelling supporters on Monday night.
QPR have lost five of their last seven matches against Brentford in all competitions (W1 D1 L5), but won this exact fixture last season 3-2 in November 2018.
Brentford have scored at least twice in each of their last seven games against QPR in all competitions, winning 3-0 in the most recent encounter in March 2019 at Griffin Park.
QPR have won their last two home league London derbies - they've not won three such games in a row since April 1995 when they were in the Premier League.
Brentford have scored six goals in their last three away league games (W2 D0 L1), as many as they had in their previous 12 on the road (W3 D2 L7).
This will only be QPR boss Mark Warburton's second match in any competition against Brentford, winning 4-3 with Nottingham Forest in August 2017.
Nahki Wells has scored seven goals in his 11 league games for QPR this season - the same number he scored in 40 appearances last term.
Tuesday night summed up QPR this season. They took the lead twice against Reading but got pegged back on both occasions. They have so much firepower but they will need to tighten up at the back.
Brentford had one of those days at Swansea that they have every so often, when everything comes together and they look like one of the best teams in the division. Unfortunately for them they can never seem to do it consistently, and that could be their undoing on Monday night.
David Prutton predicts: 2-0 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
