Stoke City vs. QPR Preview: Lineups and Predictions
Coming into Tuesday’s match against QPR the Potters will be looking to prove something. They are winless in their last two matches and were lucky to get a point against a 22nd place Derby on Saturday. Stoke have slid down to 8th place in the Championship, but are still well within reach of a playoff spot. Not only will Stoke be trying to get back in the win column, but they will also be trying prove their quality without prolific young scorer Tyrese Campbell, who will be out for the remainder of the season.
Injuries/Updates
For Stoke, Danny Batth could return to the lineup, we’ll see if he’s able to start or is on the bench, but his progress in encouraging. Tommy Smith, Sam Clucas, and John Obi Mikel are not likely to return on Tuesday. James McClean will surely be back in the lineup after his one match ban against Derby.
For QPR, Luke Amos and Charlie Owens are still injured. With QPR’s recent slide down the table it will be interesting to see if Albert Adomah gets a start.
Last 5
Stoke – D W W L D (+1 goal differential)
QPR – L L L D L (-5 goal differential)
Possible Stoke Starting 11
Formation: 4-2-3-1:
Bursik
Collins – Chester – Souttar – Fox
Cousins – Tymon
Brown – Powell – McClean
Fletcher
Since Thompson started Saturday and is coming off a recent injury I think Tymon gets the start next to Cousins. There’s also an outside shot of Vokes coming in for Fletcher and also Batth being fit enough to replace Chester.
Possible QPR Starting 11
Formation 4-2-3-1:
Dieng; Kane, Dickie, Barbet, Hämäläinen
Carroll, Cameron
Osayi-Samuel, Chair, Adomah
Bonne
Lots of possibilities with QPR. When you go winless in 5 straight, nobody has a safe spot.
Prediction: 1-0 Stoke City
This should be a statement game for Stoke City. A struggling QPR will be looking to make some pretty big changes to get things going the right direction. I’m predicting they won’t be enough for Stoke’s defense which has really looked great when called upon. and have clean sheets in 3 of their last 5 matches. Adding in James McClean will help bring another dangerous scoring option for Stoke. On top of this, I think Bursik continues to perform well and has another solid outing.