Queens Park Rangers vs Sheffield United – Preview | OneFootball

Sheffield United travel to West London on Saturday afternoon to take on Queens Park Rangers.

Queens Park Rangers have gaping wounds heading into this game after being destroyed 5-0 at the hands of Southampton in midweek. They have now conceded nine goals in their last three matches.

After riding the wave of defeating and relegating bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, the Blades were brought back down to earth on Wednesday night when league leaders Coventry City came from behind to beat United 2-1 at Bramall Lane. United are now nine points behind sixth-placed Wrexham.

Team News

There was a buzz around QPR heading into this campaign with the attack they had on paper. However, inconsistency and injuries have dampened their season. Kwame Poku is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, though his return could be soon. Meanwhile, Karamoko Dembele has an ACL injury, whilst Ilias Chair has been dealing with a soft tissue problem since December.

Chris Wilder will continue to be without Kalvin Phillips due to suspension, meanwhile Joe Rothwell will be available for selection after serving his three-match ban. Sam McCallum and Tom Davies remain the only injured players in the official squad.

Queens Park Rangers’ Impact Player For This Game

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 27: Richard Kone of Queens Park Rangers looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers at Hillsborough on September 27, 2025 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Tony King/Getty Images)

It’s like a team of the walking wounded for Julien Stephan this season, but one man remains healthy, and when he’s healthy he’s a threat. That man is Ivorian forward Richard Kone. Since signing from Wycombe Wanderers in the summer, the 22-year-old has had a steady debut Championship season, netting seven times and adding a couple of assists in his 28 starts.

Kone is a handful for any defender at this level because of his size and his raw athleticism. In some ways, he’s quite similar to Coventry’s Haji Wright, who has terrorised defences in this division for a number of seasons.

It will be a good battle with the two United centre-backs on Saturday afternoon, and it could be one Kone wins often with his current 43% aerial duels success rate, which ranks as very good compared to other Championship strikers. The issue Kone has right now is the three main creators in the squad are all injured, so perhaps the home side will lean on Kone for chance creation as well with his average of over one chances created per game.

Sheffield United’s Impact Player For This Game

Andre Brooks celebrating his goal against Ipswich Town to put Sheffield United 2-0 up at Bramall Lane. (Image Credit: Sheffield United Football Club).

One player that has grown significantly in front of our very eyes this season is Andre Brooks, and most of it is down to confidence. The S5 Blade has always shown promising signs, but now he’s consistently putting good performances together and adding goals to his game, to the point where he simply has to be one of the first names on the team sheet.

He has registered five goals and two assists to his name in 22 starts, and he was probably unlucky to not add more after his performance on Wednesday evening if it wasn’t for solid defending and goalkeeping from Coventry in vital moments. Nevertheless, his performance in midweek was good. He had five total shots, created a big chance, completed four take-ons out of a total of six. Plus, his work rate was solid; winning five of nine total duels and adding three defensive contributions.

Brooks has proven himself to be an extremely tricky customer to deal with cutting inside from the right flank, where he and full-back Femi Seriki are often the driving force of United’s transitional attacks.

Across the season, the Shirecliffe academy product has averaged over six duels won per game, over two successful takes per game and he’s averaging one successful possession regain in the final third. And this is something that underlines his appetite and work rate. It’s one of the reasons why the Blades are able to force teams to turn the ball over in their own half.

My Prediction

Queens Park Rangers sit two points ahead of the Blades ahead of this kick-off, but it’s been a real struggle for the home side in truth.

One of their saving graces of the campaign is their outstanding goals vs expected goals which is currently 5.35, meaning they’ve scored five goals more than they were expected by this point. In contrast the Blades have scored five goals less than they were expected to, fifth-worst in the league.

But when you look at expected goals overall, United are third-best in the Championship with 51, while QPR are below average with 38.

I think we’ll see this huge difference play out in real time on Saturday; the Blades are the superior attacking side, particularly in terms of creativity. Sheffield United will win this one 2-0.

Stats taken from Fotmob and Opta.