West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers
England Championship, KO: 20:00 Sep 24, 2021, The Hawthorns
WEST BROM have made a decent start to life back in the Championship and a win against QPR under the Friday night lights will take them top of the table.
New gaffer Valerian Ismael has done a good job lifting morale after relegation and his side's only defeat so far this season came in the EFL Cup when he fielded a shadow side against Arsenal.
But the Baggies' last three games have all ended in draws so they need to get back to winning ways against Mark Warburton's men if they want to get back on track for automatic promotion.
A victory would take them above Fulham and Bournemouth for 24 hours at least but it won't be easy against a dangerous QPR side.
The Loftus Road side have suffered their own blip in the league, taking just a point from their last three games, but dumped Premiership Everton out of the EFL Cup in midweek.
QPR sit just a point off the play-off places so they will be equally desperate to get back on track with a massive three points against one of the promotion favourites.
How the bookies view it
West Brom's price looks too short for me at a best 8/11 with SBK while QPR are as big as 17/4 with Bet365. Given the Baggies have drawn their last three, the stalemate will appeal to punters at 31/10 with SBK.
Recent head to head
West Brom have bossed this fixture of late, going unbeaten in four and winning three of those matches. The last meeting at the Hawthorns ended in a 2-2 draw (below) in a game that saw the Baggies clinch promotion but QPR were thrashed 7-1 there in season 2018/19.
However, the hoops were on their own four-game unbeaten run against West Brom before that humiliation, winning three.
Players to watch
The goals have dried up of late for West Brom, with just three in their last five games, but Matt Phillips could come back to haunt old club QPR again. He scored twice in that 7-1 rout and is 16/5 with Paddy Power for a goal here which looks overpriced.
Defender Sam McCallum has been a goal threat for QPR, netting twice in six appearances, and that makes him a good long-odds option for a goal at 14/1 with Bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Warburton is a football purist who once insisted his Plan B is to do Plan A better. That makes his teams an entertaining watch and the goals have been flying in so far this season.
Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals have landed in their last four games so I fancy both those bets here, even though West Brom have been firing blanks recently.
BTTS pays 5/7 at SBK, which is OK for accas, while over 2.5 strikes is 8/11 at Betfair. That's not great value but doubling those bets pays 194/100 at SBK.
Better prices are to be found in the card markets and I fancy QPR's Yoann Barbet to fall foul of the referee. The Frenchman has three bookings already this season and is 4/1 with Bet365 for a card which looks good value.
There's not much between these sides so the half-time draw, a bet which landed for me in Dundee v St Johnstone on Wednesday, could pay off here at 7/5 with SBK. A one-goal winning margin for either side also appeals at 29/20 with McBookie.
This England Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers will be played on Sep 24, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
