Preview: Swansea City vs. Queens Park Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Swansea City will look to keep their slim hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship alive when they host Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.

The Welsh side are currently in third, six points behind second-placed Watford, while QPR are 10th with little left to play for.

Match preview

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Swansea fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with bottom side Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday as Jamal Lowe and Josh Cullen netted in the last 10 minutes.

Steve Cooper described the game as "a missed opportunity" as his side were denied a third straight victory on the same afternoon as Watford lost to Luton Town.

The Swans travel to the Hornets on the final day of the campaign, so will hope to still have their fate in their own hands by that point; a trip to seventh-placed Reading follows after Tuesday night's fixture.

The Welsh outfit have looked more dangerous going forward in recent weeks but remain the lowest scorers in the top eight with 52 goals.

In addition, Cooper's side have only won one of their last five home matches – with three of their four Liberty Stadium defeats this season coming in the last two months.

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Therefore they may be encouraged to discover that QPR have never won at the Liberty Stadium in eight attempts; their last victory away at Swansea was at the Vetch Field in 1981.

The current Rangers side claimed just their sixth away win this season on Saturday as goals from defenders Rob Dickie and Lee Wallace secured a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough despite goalkeeper Seny Dieng being sent off.

After the game, Mark Warburton stated his desire to finish the campaign strongly and end in the top 10, and that result took his side 10th – their highest placing since September.

The Rs will now look for back-to-back wins for the first time since the beginning of March and will also hope to improve defensively – no top half side has conceded more goals this season (51).

Goals from Andre Ayew and Lowe either side of half time helped Swansea to a 2-0 win in this season's reverse fixture on Boxing Day.

Team News

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Ayew limped off just nine minutes into Swansea's game against Wycombe with a suspected hamstring injury and is set for a spell on the sidelines, having missed just one league match all season.

Wayne Routledge came on as Ayew's replacement on Saturday, but Cooper may also consider youngster Morgan Whittaker as an option upfront.

Lowe has found his form again, scoring four goals in his last three appearances, having drawn a blank in the previous 15.

As for the visitors, Dieng's red card against Middlesbrough means that Joe Lumley will come in between the sticks for just his fourth league start of the season.

Charlie Austin is available again after a suspension of his own and is expected to start upfront next to Lyndon Dykes.

Jordy de Wijs missed the win over Boro after suffering a nose injury against Rotherham last week, so will be assessed ahead of kick-off.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Naughton, Bennett, Guehi; Roberts, Grimes, Fulton, Manning; Hourihane; Lowe, Whittaker

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Kakay, Dickie, Barbet; Adomah, Johansen, Field, Wallace; Chair; Dykes, Austin

We say: Swansea City 1-0 Queens Park Rangers

Swansea will certainly miss Ayew, but we still expect them to have just about enough to edge past a QPR side for whom there is nothing on the line. With Watford travelling to leaders Norwich, the Swans could be three points off the automatic promotion spots by the end of Tuesday.