Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town square off on Friday evening knowing that a win will leave them in the Championship playoff positions at the end of the night. At a time when the home side are unbeaten in their last three fixtures, the visitors have suffered two defeats during the same period.

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Match preview

Despite collecting five points from a possible nine in the Championship, Mark Warburton will be far from satisfied with the latest efforts of his QPR side. The Hoops conceded a last-minute equaliser to draw with Nottingham Forest, while they also failed to hold onto a lead at Blackpool last time out. Although they still sit in sixth spot, there is a feeling of what could have been, and Warburton will hope that his players are ready to rediscover their clinical streak in the final third. Even though they have scored just one goal in each of their last six outings, QPR still possess the joint-third best attacking record in the division. Nevertheless, Lyndon Dykes has netted only one strike in six outings, while Andre Gray finally ended a six-week wait for a goal against Cardiff City earlier this month. Like with their hosts, there is a sense of frustration at Luton with the Hatters having dropped down to 11th position before the international break. In the grand scheme of things, collecting 24 points from 17 matches is a respectable return, but Nathan Jones's side will feel that they should have more points to their name. Despite Luton prevailing in half of their last eight games, recent defeats to Preston North End and Stoke City have increased the pressure ahead of their return to action. While they will progress past their next opponents and into sixth spot with a win, another setback will leave them susceptible to dropping into mid-table by the end of the weekend. Their only goals during seven halves of football came during a five-minute spell against Middlesbrough at the start of the month.

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Team News

Stefan Johansen is expected to return to the QPR starting lineup after missing the Blackpool fixture through illness. Charlie Austin may be handed an opportunity ahead of Dykes, who was absent from Scotland's win over Denmark on Monday night. Jones must decide whether to hand a recall to Fred Onyedinma, potentially as a replacement for Allan Campbell. Jordan Clark and Luke Berry, who has been absent since October 23, are also pushing to feature in the Luton XI, while Cameron Jerome will hope for a recall in the final third. Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup: Dieng; Dickie, Dunne, Barbet; Adomah, Dozzell, Johnsen, Odubajo; Chair, Willock; Austin Luton Town possible starting lineup: Sluga; Burke, Bradley, Naismith; Bree, Osho, Mpanzu, Bell; Cornick, Adebayo, Onyedinma

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We said: Queens Park Rangers 2-1 Luton Town

Matches after the international break can often be unpredictable, and that is the case here. However, on the back of losing just one of eight home games this season, we have to back the home side to win a tight encounter by a narrow margin.

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