Stoke City can exploit QPR weakness with Mark Robins tweak - Al-Hamadi blow has opened a door | OneFootball

Robins needs to play Nathan Lowe and Sam Gallagher together against the Hoops

Stoke City head into their upcoming clash against Queens Park Rangers in dire need of three points to pull away from the Championship relegation zone, and with main striker Ali Al-Hamadi set to be sidelined, Mark Robins should look to play Nathan Lowe and Sam Gallagher alongside each other to exploit the Hoops' aerial frailties.

The Potters currently hover precariously above the Championship relegation zone with eight games of the season to go, following a turbulent campaign that has seen three different permanent managers take the reins in ST4. Their tough season shows no signs of slowing down as a vital second-tier run-in quickly approaches.

Most of Robins' players have had a chance to rest and recuperate amid the first international break of 2025, but Ipswich Town loanee Ali Al-Hamadi picked up an injury against Millwall last time out, and so has had to miss out on Iraq's World Cup qualifiers, with a start against QPR seemingly unlikely this weekend as a result.

Stoke's poor record in front of goal proves that they need to score more over the next five weeks if they want to stay up. One way that Robins can give his side more threat in the final third is by playing tall, strong frontmen Lowe and Gallagher together against Marti Cifuentes' men, especially given that the R's centre-backs are known to struggle in the air.

Ali Al-Hamadi looks set to miss out against QPR - any long-term injury would be a huge blow

Al-Hamadi joined the Potters on loan from the Premier League strugglers late in the winter window, with the aim of rediscovering his scoring touch at the bet365 Stadium after a tough half-season spell in the top-flight amid limited chances to make an impact in Kieran McKenna's side.

He got off to a great start with a goal against Hull, but then did not score in any of his next six outings and even saw his main competition in Gallagher bag a brace off the bench against Coventry City in early March.

Gallagher's exploits may have spurred Al-Hamadi on to make a bigger impact against Blackburn Rovers, and if they did, it worked like a dream as he netted the winner to move the Potters four points away from the bottom three on March 12.

He has scored twice in eight appearances for Robins' side, and his all-round game has received praise from supporters and the Stoke boss alike, who dubbed him "outstanding" in the aftermath of that win over Blackburn.

Stoke supporters and Robins alike will be concerned over recent developments, however, after Al-Hamadi pulled out of representing Iraq over the international break due to an innocuous injury he picked up in the Potters' last game against Millwall.

The genuine timescale for a recovery from his injury is unclear right now, but regardless, it seems unlikely that he will feature from the off, or maybe even at all in the squad, against QPR this weekend if it was a bad enough blow to rule him out of both of Iraq’s key World Cup qualifying games.

Unconfirmed reports have arisen that the 23-year-old is set to be out for a month, which would be a huge setback for the Potters in their quest to preserve their Championship status. Robins will have to devise a new-look attacking plan this weekend against the R's, and it makes perfect sense for him to deploy two strikers with Stoke in real need of three points.

Mark Robins should play Sam Gallagher and Nathan Lowe together against QPR

Sam Gallagher has barely got going at Stoke so far, and has personally admitted his "frustration" at being constantly injured and not match-fit since he joined the club from Blackburn last summer.

The 29-year-old was a regular second-tier scorer in his time at Ewood Park, and has shown glimpses of his scoring ability in red and white, but has only been able to make 15 league appearances up to now this season due to recurring hamstring issues.

His most recent spell in the squad has been the most fruitful, however, and he is undoubtedly set to be a huge asset to Stoke and Mark Robins as they look to find the net more often over the next eight outings.

Gallagher's aforementioned brace off the bench against Coventry was a clear example of his talents, and he has undoubtedly played his best football, both with the Potters and throughout his career, alongside another striker.

Fellow Stoke frontman Nathan Lowe is of a similar mould to his teammate, with both players standing at well over six feet tall, and it is fair to say that he has not featured as often as he would have liked over the last few months following his recall from a successful loan spell at Walsall in League Two.

19-year-old Lowe joined the Saddlers on loan in the summer window and proved himself as one of the best players in the fourth-tier over the first half of the campaign, with individual awards aplenty and 18 goals and seven assists in 30 appearances across all competitions for the club in their push for automatic promotion.

His strong form saw Stoke exercise their option to recall him in January following Tom Cannon's own recall to Leicester City, but despite netting in his first game back against West Brom, Lowe has featured just eight times since he returned to ST4, with only five starts so far and only one substitute appearance in the club's last four matches.

Their decision to take him away from a brilliant spell at Walsall has not been justified as yet, and so Lowe deserves another chance from the off against QPR this weekend alongside Gallagher up-front.

The R's potential starting centre-backs at the bet365 Stadium consist of Ronnie Edwards, Steve Cook and ex-Stoke man Morgan Fox, and not one of those three can claim to be strong in the air, as they are all below the 48th percentile in FBref’s aerials won per 90 statistics when compared to other second-tier players in their position.

With that said, going long could be a real source of joy for the Potters if both six-foot-four-inch strikers Gallagher and Lowe play together this weekend. Robins could line up with the pair in attack in a 4-4-2 formation, with the likes of Million Manhoef, Bae Junho or Lewis Koumas feeding off their knockdowns to find the formula for a goal in Al-Hamadi's absence.