Queens Park Rangers vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

After a defeat to Leeds United, Sheffield United must quickly put that disappointment behind them as they face Queens Park Rangers on the road this weekend.

The Blades are now five points behind league leaders Leeds, and have a narrow two-point cushion over Burnley, in the race for promotion, with the Clarets having a much better goal difference, so Chris Wilder’s side cannot afford any slip-ups in these remaining 12 games.

QPR have shown inconsistency of late; they started out 2025 with four straight Championship victories. But, since then, they’ve won just two of their last six games, most recently losing 2-1 away at Portsmouth.

Transfer Business

Marti Cifuentes’ team are certainly not out of the play-off picture just yet. After making an excellent signing in the January transfer window, by bringing in Ronnie Edwards on loan from Southampton, they have seen a slight improvement defensively.

Since the 21-year-old has joined QPR, he has helped them earn two clean sheets in eight starts, after they only managed six throughout 26 games before he signed.

An improved back line was certainly one of their biggest needs in the winter window because in terms of creativity, they have some very good players that could help fire them into the play-offs over the next few weeks, such as: Karamoko Dembele and Ilias Chair.

Team News

The Blades have recently been given a big injury boost as Gustavo Hamer, Tom Cannon and Kieffer Moore all made the bench against Leeds, and all came on off the bench in the second half.

Meanwhile, Wilder has admitted that Alfie Gilchrist will remain on the sidelines for the next couple of weeks as he continues rehab with his ankle injury. On a positive note, Femi Seriki will be involved in the matchday squad on Saturday afternoon.

Cifuentes could be without defender Jake Clarke-Salter, midfielders Lucas Andersen and Harvey Vale and attackers Rayan Kolli and Zan Celar for this upcoming fixture.

Queens Park Rangers’ Impact Player For This Game

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 14: Ilias Chair of Queens Park Rangers celebrates after scoring his teams first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Queens Park Rangers FC and Derby County FC at Loftus Road on February 14, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Ilias Chair is a player that I hoped Sheffield United would sign in the January transfer window to give us actual depth in the number ten position. The Moroccan has been absolutely sensational, again, this season. He has eight goal contributions to his name (two goals, six assists) in 22 Championship appearances.

With flair players such as Chair, they can produce moments of quality to win games, even if the team is playing poorly, quite similar to Gustavo Hamer for the Blades. Another similarity he has to Hamer is that naturally he is a central attacking midfielder, but this season he has been deployed on the left for the majority of it as an inverted player – one that has license to drift infield to pick up the ball as well.

When comparing him to the rest of the Championship’s attacking midfielders or wingers this season, the QPR man ranks in the 96th percentile for assists per 90, 97th percentile for key passes per 90, and he ranks in the 91st percentile for shot-creating actions per 90 (averaging 4.3).

Something that the Blades have struggled with ever since Harry Souttar’s season ended is defending their box, and they conceded another two from crosses/corners against Leeds United on Monday night. They’ll likely get no respite either as Chair averages over six crosses per 90, one of the highest volumes in the league.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 10: Tyrese Campbell of Sheffield United celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Sheffield Wednesday FC at Bramall Lane on November 10, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

You look at the back line for Queens Park Rangers and you have to believe this is a perfect stylistic matchup for Tyrese Campbell. The home team’s defence is not overly blessed with speed, whereas Campbell is. Plus, while they’re a physically imposing defence, the United striker has proven he can come on top in physical battles.

Personally, I thought the Blades were excellent against Leeds when Campbell was on the pitch. As soon as he went off though, they didn’t have an outlet up front that could run the channels, hold it up and draw fouls or wait for the midfield and full-backs to get up the pitch.

We’ve now only got a couple of months left in the season, and by now I’m sure every fan is of the opinion that Campbell is United’s best forward in terms of being involved in the build-up and also inside the box.

Campbell is averaging a 60% shot accuracy this season, this ranks him in the top 4% of Championship forwards. Additionally, he is averaging over one key pass per 90, ranking him in the 83rd percentile, and he ranks in the 84th percentile for shot-creating actions per 90, thus highlighting his impact in various areas: build-up, scoring and creating.

My Prediction

QPR overall aren’t a great creative team, but they do have a very talented individual in Ilias Chair who has contributed to 21% of the team’s current xG total.

The home side are outperforming their xG by four, but on the flip side, United’s defence are outperforming their xGA by nine.

Interestingly, QPR are the fourth-best Championship team in terms of ground duels, while United are the best at aerial duels, so this looks like a game where two teams match each other’s physicality.

Ultimately, you have to favour the team with the best attack and best defence in this one, but you also expect the home side to have at least a couple of chances.  Sheffield United will leave Loftus Road with three points after seeing out a 2-1 win.

All stats taken from FBref and Opta.