Queens Park Rangers vs Cardiff City Prediction: Teams looking start new year positively

Queens Park Rangers will welcome Cardiff City at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in Game Week 26 of the English Championship. Both teams will be looking to start the new season on a positive note. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

After suffering a defeat to Millwall on Boxing Day, extending QPR's losing streak to three matches, newly-appointed head coach Marti Cifuentes emphasized that he did not come in to be the saviour for the team. However, securing a point from their match against Ipswich Town could be considered a remarkable achievement. Currently, there is a significant 20-point difference between the two teams in the Championship table. Despite this, QPR managed to limit Ipswich's possession to just 54% and restricted them to only seven shots, while QPR took ten shots of their own. As a result, they returned to Loftus Road with an unexpected but deserved point. Cifuentes expressed his dissatisfaction during the post-game press conference, feeling that his team was unjustly denied two clear penalties. This loss leaves QPR in 22nd place, below the relegation line, trailing Huddersfield Town by four points. Additionally, Cifuentes highlighted the team's struggles in the attacking third, as they have only scored one goal in their last five matches and have failed to score in their past three Championship games. Even the solitary goal they managed in the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday proved inconsequential. Consequently, QPR now find themselves enduring a bleak winless run of five games and managed just three wins at Loftus Road in the entirety of 2023.

Begovic; Cannon, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Field, Dozzell; Smyth, Dixon-Bonner, Adomah; Dykes

However, QPR has performed better than Cardiff in their recent matches. Two of their victories came after the November international break. On the other hand, Cardiff recently suffered a loss against Premier League-bound Leicester.

During the match against Leicester, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored a goal for the Foxes in the first half, followed by James Justin's impressive strike in the second half. Losing to Leicester is nothing to be ashamed of, as they are a well-coordinated team under Enzo Maresca's management. Despite the loss, Cardiff's head coach, Erol Bulut, found positive aspects in his team's performance. However, their recent record shows three defeats in their last five matches in the Championship.

Currently, Cardiff holds an unremarkable 14th position in the Championship standings due to their inconsistent performances. Nevertheless, they are still within reach of the seventh-placed team, Sunderland, with only a five-point gap separating them from the final playoff position occupied by Hull City.

Despite these standings, Cardiff will face QPR at Loftus Road, a team they have struggled against in the past. In fact, Cardiff has lost six of their last eight matches against QPR in the Championship, including a 2-1 defeat at home in August. Additionally, they have not had a successful New Year's Day fixture since 2013 when they beat Birmingham City.

Alnwick; Ng, Goutas, McGuinness, Collins; Ralls, Siopis, Wintle; Bowler, Robinson, Meite

The implementation of aggressive changes in attacking strategies may potentially disrupt the momentum of both teams on Monday. QPR already lacked offensive momentum, while Cardiff struggled to score in five out of their last eight matches away from home. Although there will be numerous exciting matches during the New Year period, it is unlikely that there will be a thrilling encounter at Loftus Road. A dull draw is definitely a possibility.