FT: Q.P.R. 6 - 1 CARDIFF CITY. Match thread

[Michael Morris]

Match facts

• QPR have won 13 of their last 17 home league matches against Cardiff City, including the last two in a row.
• Cardiff are looking to complete a league double over QPR for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
• QPR and Cardiff have faced each other on New Year's Day once previously. The Hoops won 2-1 back in 2018.
• Cardiff manager Neil Harris is winless in his last three games when facing QPR in the Championship. His last victory over Rangers came while in charge of Millwall in December 2017.
• QPR boss Mark Warburton has lost each of his last four games against Cardiff - all in the Championship, with three different sides, Brentford, Nottingham Forest (twice) and QPR.
• Cardiff have lost their last three league games on New Year's Day, although two of those defeats were in the Premier League in 2013/14 and 2018/19.

[surge]

Are we expecting anything other than 5 at the back?

[surge]

Are we expecting anything other than 5 at the back?

- QPR had 2 days to prepare for us playing with 5 at the back
- 5 at the back is a system we have used for 57 minutes in game time under Harris with 2 days training to prepare to use it again
- The last time we used it, I believe, was Wolves at home 30/11/18 with a vastly different squad. I would wager that QPR have attacked against it more recently than that.
- QPR scored 6 goals against a defence that very, very rarely concedes more than 2 goals in a game

Due to injuries and it seemingly working well as an emergency measure, perhaps 5 at the back was a system Harris was willing to try but with hindsight it was a poor decision in the short-term.