Plenty to like again about QPR at West Ham on Friday night, but to compete at the top end of this year’s intriguing Championship they’re going to have to ice games where they’re required to make all the running – coincidentally, it’s John Eustace’s Derby in town tonight.

QPR (3-5-1 WLDDDD 8th) v Derby (1-3-5 WLLLDD 23rd)

Mercantile Credit Trophy >>> Wednesday October 14, 2026 >> Kick Off 19.45 >>> Weather – Sunny and mild >>> Loftus Road, London, W12

QPR and Derby, both winless in five. That’s narrative for you.

Of course, what went on before those five games does have some bearing. The Rams have only won one game in their first nine (away at Portsmouth) and sit second bottom of the table. After a poor set of pre-season results and botched takeover attempt left John Eustace with a face like Suella Braverman chewing on a… well, with a face like Suella Braverman, it’s been a lousy start to the season for County who came within a whisker of making the play-offs last year.

A traditionalist manager at cross purposes with a new age recruitment lead has Derby’s recruitment veering between 22-year-old strikers on loan from Pisa and 30-somethings who have almost certainly played for Blackburn at some point. An injury crisis not untypical among Championship clubs in this chaotic fixture list has sidelined trusted lieutenants Lewis Travis, Matt Clarke and Eiran Cashin along with talented goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom, who rather stole the show when these sides last met on this ground.

In a month that began at then-second placed West Ham and has Birmingham (3rd), Swansea (1st) and Southampton (God knows what by then) to come this is, in theory, QPR’s easiest and most winnable fixture of October.

There was certainly plenty of supporting evidence in the case of ‘are QPR any good?’ at the BrewDog Multi-Sport Megadome and Shopping Emporium on Friday night. At one point West Ham went a good three quarters of an hour without having a shot on the goal and with that Charles-Dunne-Clarke-Salter-Edwards diamond in sparkling form it felt for a long while like Nicolas Madsen’s first half penalty might be enough to secure a deserved victory. Only league leaders Swansea (seven) have a better defence than QPR (eight). Sadly, the double threat of Rangers’ profligate attack and elastic-bands-and-chewing-gum fitness regime allowed the hosts a route back into the game so wide and inviting they’d have won the bloody thing themselves but for Charles’ injury time heroics.

It means Julien Stephan’s team, for all the good vibes and optimistic mood music, haven’t won since knocking over Cardiff in West London more than a month ago. Now on a sequence of four draws, their longest such run since 2013, it’s vital to whatever play-off hopes are harboured at this Championship perennial that they sort their attack and (perhaps not unrelated) their home form out, starting tonight.

The fixture list presented a very kind start to the Londoners, particularly on their own patch where newly promoted Bolton and Cardiff came first, relegation haunted Preston soon after, and early strugglers Derby, Lincoln and Burnley are next up. Despite this, it’s no wins from five in all comps and only four goals scored.

The reasons for that are pretty obvious. It’s now 73 games and 23 victories since the R’s last beat a team while holding more of the ball than their opponent - Blackburn H in February 2025. Ten shots on target against Bolton, drew 0-0. Upwards of 30 shots on goal against Preston, drew 2-2. This team has a real problem dominating games, or at least turning that domination into a victory. They’re much more comfortable sitting on that stellar combination of goalkeeper and centre halves and then breaking on teams (if that Poku/Kolli counter attack had ended in a goal on Friday I’d still be there now, windmilling) than they are having all the ball and being required to force the issue.

The good news is that might suit this more difficult set of fixtures. Birmingham on Saturday will, again, be an away game where the host will want all of the ball and QPR can sit and pick their moments. Five away games played, no defeats, the best run this club has managed to start a season since the 2013/14 promotion. But against Derby tonight, and with Lincoln and Burnley heading to W12 in the not too distant future, another string has to be added to the bow here if it is to genuinely be a promotion contending team.

John Eustace’s teams were never particularly attractive nor ambitious when the going was good – now second bottom of the table with an injury list to rival the Casualty Christmas special I think we all know what’s coming down the M1 to see us this Wednesday evening. But, then, Eustace has won more games as a manager against QPR (five, for three different clubs) than against any other side. You may not like watching it, but it’s often effective, especially against us.

Now would be a perfect time to break out of that shell.

Links >>> Upstairs Downstairs – October >>> Ropey Rams – Oppo Profile >>> Vintage Bowles – History >>> Newbie – Referee >>> Official Website >>> Derby Telegraph — Local Press >>> Derby County Blog — Contributor’s blog >>> DCFCFans — Forum >>> Ground Guide – Pride Park

Below the fold

Team News: QPR sprung several surprises on Friday night at West Ham with Rayan Kolli, Richard Kone and Boy Kemper among the surprise recalls from a chunky list of absentees. Tariq Lamptey was also tried from the bench for the first time since he sat down at Charlton away, and that went about as well as a lot of us feared. Kemper and Smyth were removed early, Adamson and Clarke-Salter could hardly walk by the end, but the former Brighton and Fiorentina full back is the only official confirmed casualty from that draw. He rejoins Rumarn Burrell, Karamoko Dembele, Ilias Chair, Koki Saito and Justin Obikwu (of course) on the absent list. Jake Clarke-Salter is one yellow card away from a one match ban, leading the league on four bookings. Dennis Cirkin serves game two of three of his ban for a red card against Preston.

Derby are one of many teams in the Championship for whom the manic schedule has come at the expense of their squad. Already missing Patrick Agyemang (not that one) with a busted Achilles that robbed the USA international of a home World Cup, the Rams have collected absentees at a frightening rate so far. Goalkeeper Jacob Zetterstrom was the hero of this fixture last year for John Eustace but is missing with a knee injury. The back four is missing dominant centre back Matt Clarke, loanee Eiran Cashin, and all three left backs Charlie Taylor, Derry Murkin and Craig Forsyth. Influential midfielder/fifth official Lewis Travis has recovered as far as the bench for the last two.

Elsewhere: Tuesday proved to be a real night of eye-opening scores in the Championship.

Swansea continue to defy all odds and pre-season predictions. They extended their lead at the top of the table to two points from second and five from third with an impressive 1-0 away win at Millwall. Ronald’s winning goal coming in time added on at the end of the game following a delay in play to deal with the racist abuse of Swansea sub Ji-Sung Eom. At the family club of the year? Sometimes this stuff just writes itself.

Middlesbrough kept up the pace immediately behind them with a thrilling 3-2 win at in form Stoke. Boro were twice pegged back by the hosts before also striking their decisive blow in stoppage time.

Quietly into third behind them are Birmingham City, who nobody has really been talking about. Graham Alexander might be hoping for a 14-day cooling off period on his decision to swap Bradford for Deepdale as Preston were swept aside 4-0 at St Andrew’s.

West Brom are up into fourth, coming from behind to win 2-1 at struggling Wrexham.

Even more unlikely, relegation favs Blackburn are also now into the play-off picture after winning 1-0 at Bristol City in a game where the Robins had 20 shots on goal and seven on target to Rovers’ three and one – goalkeeper Balazs Toth described as “magnificent” by the home manager Michael Scubala.

A bad night for a few of the more fancied teams. Wolves were remarkably beaten 3-1 at Molineux by Bolton while Burnley failed to follow up on their first win of the season at the weekend by only drawing at home to Charlton. Ivan Mesik equalised in the 96th minute for the Addicks to make it 360 days and 21 attempts since the Clarets last won a home game at Turf Moor.

Perhaps the biggest headline grabber even above all of that, however, was Watford – a club that has always treated manager of the month more like soup of the day and will surely now be making another change and removing *checks notes* Alessio Dionisi. Elton John felt forced to speak publicly about the sad, sad situation at his club following a weekend 4-0 home defeat to Burnley, and it got more and more absurd last night as Cardiff finally started justifying their underlying numbers by racing into a 4-0 half time lead. That could have been much worse than the 5-1 it eventually ended up as, with the ever loveable Chris Willock missing a second half penalty while man of the match Jack Moylan – on the pitch, on a hat trick, with one successful spot kick already to his name – stood by.

Three games tonight as well as our own, with Norwich hosting Southampton, Sheff Utd trekking all the way down to Portsmouth, and the ultimate battle of the haves and have nots as Lincoln host West Ham in the league for the first time since 1957 (that last meeting finished 6-1 to the Hammers at Sincil Bank, by the way).

Referee: It’s another new referee for us this Wednesday. Matt Corlett from Bootle takes charge of a sixth career Championship game, and first ever QPR fixture, having previously been an EFL assistant. He took Derby’s 2-1 home defeat to Wrexham last season. Details.

Form

- You wouldn’t know it from the vibes around these two, but both come into this game without a win in five. QPR haven’t won in more than a month since beating Cardiff 2-1 on this ground at the start of September, losing 1-0 to Boro and drawing all four of the games played either side of the elongated international break.

- Nevertheless, QPR remain in the play-off places having lost just one of their first nine games so far. No team has drawn as many as Rangers’ five, and the four consecutive ties is their longest such run since 2013.

- Derby have drawn the last two coming into this away at Burnley and at home to Wrexham (both 1-1) but lost three straight before that so are also winless in five. Difference is, the Rams have only won one of their first nine (away at Pompey) and currently sit second bottom of the table. Six points from nine is their worst start to a season in six years.

- The 1-1 at West Ham on Friday keeps QPR unbeaten away from home five trips into the season (W2 D3) – their best start to a season since they were promoted in 2013/14.

- However, QPR are quietly nursing a poor home record. Preston and Bolton have both taken a point from Loftus Road and Middlesbrough all three. The victory against Cardiff is the R’s only home win in eight attempts – a run that includes a 3-2 loss to Derby in this fixture in April.

- Only league leaders Swansea (seven) have conceded fewer goals than QPR so far – eight. That comes after a year in which Rangers had the second worst defence in the league (73) behind only Sheff Wed (89).

- Just as well, because QPR’s 11 goals scored is the lowest total in the top half of the division. Rumarn Burrell, Ilias Chair, Paul Smyth and the ever prolific Own Goals all top score with two. Having equalled a club record of own goals with five in 2024/25 a new record was set with six in 2025/26. Rangers have failed to score in two of their four home games in the league and have only scored four times at Loftus Road this season.

- The stat around possession continues to grow, with the 60.6% against Preston only enough for a point. It’s now 73 games and 23 victories since QPR last beat a team while holding more of the ball than their opponent. The R’s had 72.4% of it against Charlton and 52% in the loss to Boro.

- Sammie Szmodics is the top scorer for Derby with three league goals but only Lincoln (seven) have scored fewer than the Ram’s eight in the league so far. Eustace’s side have scored three goals in their last five matches and have the worst xG in the division (16.3).

- Derby won both fixtures last season, 1-0 at Pride Park and 3-2 having trailed twice at Loftus Road. It was the Rams’ first double in these games since 2016/17 and they haven’t won consecutive visits to W12 since 2008.

- Carlton Morris has four goals in ten career appearances against QPR, scoring against the R’s for three different clubs (Derby, Luton, Barnsley).

- John Eustace has won more games against QPR as a manager than any other side – five victories, level with Swansea and West Brom.

Prediction

In our Prediction League for 2026/27 we’ll once again be handing out prizes for being top at Christmas and overall winner from The Art of Football - sample the merch from our sponsor’s newly extended QPR collection here. JB007007 won both prizes last year and has kindly agreed to keep up tradition and offer his irrational dislikes of each of our opponents this year…

“I think I’ve mellowed towards Derby in the last couple of years or so. That tit Mel Morris irritated me no end with his and the club’s arrogance and whilst he got his comeuppance, unfortunately (as usual) the fans suffered. The core that rivalled us in 2013/14 had some easy to dislike characters - although I would happily buy both Richard Keogh and Chris Martin a beer these days! For some bizarre reason I had no nerves going into that Wembley final and felt we’d win. Even when O’Neill took one for the team, I just didn’t see us not winning it.

“I like John Eustace for obvious reasons, he's a good coach and am a bit surprised by their slow start so far.

“Once again Rangers put together a very good solid performance at West Ham and, although lucky with that awful penalty decision in our favour, felt we more than deserved a point there. We’re proving very tough to create good chances against, looking well organised and Julien is maximising the players available to him superbly. We are due a home win and I believe we’ll get that on Wednesday with a narrow 1-0 and Smyth to score.”

JB’s Prediction: QPR 1-0 Derby. Scorer – Paul Smyth

LFW’s Prediction: QPR 2-0 Derby. Scorer – Jimmy Dunne

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Pictures - Ian Randall Photography