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Championship: In-form Brentford to further QPR’s domestic misery

| 30.10.2015
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Lee Gormley | October 29, 2015

  • Championship
  • Friday, October 30th
  • Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
  • Griffin Park, Brentford, west London
  • Live on Sky Sports 1

Brentford host QPR in Championship clash

Brentford will host fellow mid-table side QPR aiming to make it four wins on the bounce domestically, but face a tough test in this Friday night clash, having failed to overcome their London rivals since August 1965, stretching back eight meetings.

FBL-ENG-PR-SUNDERLAND-QPR

In their first match-up since 2004, Lee Carsley’s Bees are 27/20 with Coral to run home ruling over their opposition, while Chris Ramsey’s travelling R’s are 2/1 to earn their first away victory since August, after two consecutive defeats on the road.

The visitors currently occupy 10th-place in the second tier table, but sit only two points and places above their next opponents, though it’s Brentford who have looked more like a team capable of challenging for a play-off place in recent weeks.

Contrasting Championship form

Brentford could only manage two victories from their opening 10 domestic matches this season, but since being overcome 2-0 by Derby County on their travels, they have not dropped a single point.

QPR were expected to be in the mix for automatic promotion back to the Premier League this term, but they have dropped off the pace at this early stage, with indifferent form seeing them win just two of their previous five games.

Soccer - Sky Bet Championship - Brentford v Birmingham City - Griffin Park

Reluctant interim coach Carsley previously stated he didn’t want his current Griffin Park role, but instead has been given the job until the end of this current campaign.

Injury concerns on both sides

The current coach will be without Andreas Bjelland and Jota through injury, while Lasse Vibe is pushing for a start after impressing from the bench in the win over Charlton Athletic. Brentford also extended on-loan Spurs starlet John Swift recently to help boost their promotion bid.

Ramsey has injury conerns of his own, with star striker Charlie Austin continuing his comeback, though he may well start Friday night’s encounter from the bench, despite claiming he is fit.

“We’ll check on Charlie; he’s raring to go,” stated Ramsey. “But it depends on how much gas he has in the tank as to whether he starts.

“Charlie voiced his opinion about getting in the team, but sometimes you have to protect them from themselves.”

Astute attackers on show

The R’s boss is relishing the prospect of having both Austin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas lead his line in a two-pronged spearhead though, with the latter striking five times in eight outings, including the opener in a recent win against MK Dons. Emmanuel-Thomas is 6/1 to open proceedings again in his latest outing.

Soccer - Sky Bet Championship - Queens Park Rangers v Blackburn Rovers - Loftus Road

“I think we can accommodate both [Austin and Emmanuel-Thomas],” Ramsey added. “Jay will play at Brentford, it’s now for him to lose his place. He’s worked very hard.”

Austin was heavily tipped for a summer switch away from Loftus Road but has remained within the R’s set-up, and the England international call-up is 5/1 to bag the game’s last goal, as he prepares to make an impact from the bench.

Meanwhile, Marco Djuricin will undoubtedly be a threat for the hosts and the Austria international forward is 6/4 to add to his three goals for the campaign anytime on home turf.

Brentford have scored at least twice in their last three Championship outings and are 21/20 to do so again this time out, while QPR are hoping to continue their fixture dominance, having gone undefeated in six Bees battles.

Related

Read our QPR archive

See our other Charlie Austin news

Coral’s top tip: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to score first @ 6/1

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Author

Lee Gormley

Lee joined the Coral team in 2014 after studying at Leeds Trinity University, having moved across the water from Ireland, and has plenty of industry experience from his time with various news outlets in both England and Northern Ireland. After graduating with a BA Honours degree in Sports Journalism, he has since become an important member of the talented sports desk, passionately covering boxing, football and snooker, among many other sports. Lee is also a massive Manchester United and Republic of Ireland fan, but curbs any bias during his work, and outside of his job can be found regularly taking part in sport himself, such as boxing, GAA and football.