‘Go into their shadow’: EFL pundit issues close score prediction for Derby County vs Queens Park Rangers
‘Go into their shadow’: EFL pundit issues close score prediction for Derby County vs Queens Park Rangers
Derby County face off with Queens Park Rangers in a Championship clash at 3pm on Saturday, October 5th.
The Rams head into the game aiming to end an unwanted winless streak under Paul Warne.
After securing promotion from League One in 2023/24, Derby County had a surprisingly positive start to life back in the Championship.
They did lose to Blackburn Rovers on the opening weekend but then beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in their second fixture of the season.
Wins over Bristol City and Cardiff City then followed in their next two outings at Pride Park but their form has taken a hit over the last few weeks.
Derby lost to Sunderland last time out, following on from defeats to Sheffield United and Norwich City.
That run of form has seen them slip down to 14th in the Championship table and just two points away from the relegation zone.
Sam Parkin gives Derby County vs QPR score prediction
While their form has dropped a fair bit recently, Warne is unlikely to be too worried at this stage.
Two of their last three defeats came against sides fighting it out for promotion in Sunderland and Sheffield United.
The former are top of the table while Sheffield United are yet to lose a Championship game in 2024/25 so far.
QPR, on the other hand, have picked up just one win from eight and have the joint-third-worse defence in the Championship going into the weekend.
Now, speaking on the Championship Check-In podcast, EFL pundit Sam Parkin has made his prediction for the game, backing Derby to scrape a win and be ‘motivated’ after the ‘injustice’ they faced against Norwich recently.
He said: “I think it’s a game, probably, historically when I was growing up that you would have anticipated exactly what was going to come.
“Uncompromising, QPR probably go into their shadow and falter and I’m going to go for something similar here.
“I think the physicality at Derby, the home form has been good. They will be motivated after the injustice possibly against Norwich last time out there. I’ll go from them [Derby] to win, QPR to score, 2-1 Derby.”
Paul Warne must make changes for Derby County vs QPR
While Derby’s recent struggles can in part be put down to their tough opponents, it is clear Warne should make some changes to his starting line-up this weekend.
Kayden Jackson dropped to the bench against Sunderland but must now come back into the starting line-up after scoring two on home soil for the Derbyshire outfit this season.
Elsewhere, Tawanda Chirewa was pretty anonymous on his full Derby debut and the Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee may now be dropped in place of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who was rested against Sunderland.
Another potential change for Warne could see something of a fringe star given a rare chance in the eleven.
Corey Blackett-Taylor has shown his talent from the bench, scoring in the defeat to Norwich City and could offer the Rams something different against QPR this weekend.
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