PREVIEW: Queens Park Rangers (A)

Derby County will play their penultimate match of the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season when they travel to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon (3pm kick-off).

The Rams will be looking to return to winning ways after coming up short in a 2-1 contest against Norwich City on Tuesday night.

John Eustace’s side sit eighth in the Championship table and four points away from the play-off places with just two matches remaining in the season.

Opponents, Queens Park Rangers, come into the match secure in their spot in the second tier next season, mathematically unable to ascend or descend with just two matches to play.

The Hoops also enter the tie in West London off the back of a 2-1 defeat in midweek, having been defeated on home turf by Swansea City.

Ticket Information

Derby will be backed by a SOLD-OUT away end in West London.

The Rams were handed a total allocation of 1,760 tickets for the match, and these have now completely sold out, with no further seats being made available.

Those fans without a ticket are advised not to make the trip to MATRADE Loftus Road, as they will be unable to gain access to the ground.

Pre-Match Thoughts

Head Coach John Eustace spoke to RamsTV to preview his side’s away clash with Queens Park Rangers.

Goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström also caught up with RamsTV ahead of Saturday’s trip to MATRADE Loftus Road.

The Opposition

Opponents, Queens Park Rangers, come into the match secure in their spot in the second-tier next season, mathematically unable to ascend or descend with just two matches to play.

This means Rangers will be in the second tier for an 11th consecutive season, having suffered relegation from the Premier League back in the 2014/15 season.

Last season, Martí Cifuentes was the man tasked with getting a tune out of the Loftus Road club. He guided them to a 13th-place finish in 2024/25 and opted to leave the club for Leicester City ahead of the new campaign.

Julien Stéphan was the man selected to step into the role ahead of this season. The Frenchman joined after having departed hometown club Rennes in 2024.

Rangers have registered 16 wins and 10 draws from their 44 matches this season. Their main failure this term has been putting unbeaten runs together.

After a fast start saw them rise to sixth in the table, with four wins and two draws from their opening nine matches, the R’s have since struggled to replicate that early form.

Although – before two defeats in their last two matches – they had gone unbeaten in five league games from 14th March until 11th April, including a 6-1 dispatching of Portsmouth at Loftus Road.

The Rangers squad boasts a wealth of young talent, Rumarn Burrell has been QPR’s most consistent performer this term, with 10 goals and three assists to his name, closely followed by Richard Kone, who has 11 goal involvements.

Meanwhile, attacker Harvey Vale has also stood out in his first full season with the club, since the 22-year-old Republic of Ireland international joined from Chelsea in February 2025.

Another highly thought of youngster, signed in the same window, was 23-year-old defender Ronnie Edwards, who made his loan from Southampton permanent in the winter window, and has since captained the side on multiple occasions.

Stéphan will be hoping the season can be a foundation-building exercise with that young talent ready to flourish next term – as they look to start that momentum building with a strong nd to the 2025/26 season.

Match Officials

John Busby will be the man in the middle in the nation’s capital, officiating his 20th Championship fixture this season.

Busby has held the whistle in 26 games in all competitions so far in 2025/26; he has shown a total of 106 yellow cards and four straight red cards.

Mark Russell and Johnathon Bickerdikehave been named as the Assistant Referees; Lewis Smith has been appointed as the Fourth Official.