Queens Park Rangers

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QPR head coach Julien Stephan called Middlesbrough "the best team we've played this season" after his side lost 3-1 on Teesside.

It was a sobering afternoon after four wins in their previous five, but Frenchman Stephan had no complaints about the result.

"We have to be honest and say that is probably the best team we have faced since the start of the season," Stephan told BBC Radio London.

"Especially in the first 60 minutes, they played technically, collectively, physically very, very well and they were stronger than us - I think they deserved the win and it was a logical result.

"We scored one goal and we had more opportunities to score another one but in the end they deserved their win."

But the challenge that Stephan has issued his players is to see if they can raise their levels over the next few months to those shown by Boro.

He added: "We will play against them again in March at home and let's see in the next three months if we are able to improve in order to compete because we know they will be playing for promotion."

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Second-placed Middlesbrough go into Saturday's game (15:00 GMT) in a rich vein of form having won their past three games with Kim Hellberg continuing his perfect start as boss after their win at Charlton last time out.

Boro are flying high in second place and are five points adrift of leaders Coventry.

QPR will be looking to squeeze their way into the play-off positions after picking up wins in their past two games.

The R's, who currently sit just outside the top six but only on goal difference, claimed a dramatic late winner against Birmingham City in their most recent outing.

• Middlesbrough have won their past three league games against QPR, last winning four in a row between November 2015 and January 2018.

• QPR have won four of their last six league visits to Middlesbrough (L2), though they lost 2-1 there in 2024-25.

• Middlesbrough have won 10 of their last 15 home league matches (D3 L2) and won in Kim Hellberg's first game at the Riverside against Derby in November.

• QPR haven't won any of their last six away Championship games in the month of December (D3 L3), last winning back in December 2023 away at Preston.

• Morgan Whittaker has scored three goals in his last five home Championship games for Middlesbrough, having failed to score in any of his first 11 games at the Riverside for the club.

Queens Park Rangers manager Julien Stephan was ecstatic about his side's performance after they beat Birmingham City to climb into the Championship play-off places.

"Fantastic game, a lot of emotion," he told BBC Radio London. "I think the players deserve this win. And all the credit to them because they played so well today, with a lot of character and a lot of ambition.

"They pressed the opponent very well, which we know is important because if they have time to organise themselves they are a very good team. I think in the second half if was perfect.

"It was very difficult mentally to accept the fact that we concede the goal, but the reaction of the players is amazing. This a great win, I enjoyed their performance, and enjoyed a lot the atmosphere in the stadium. We play football to share this kind of emotion, it's very important.

"I'm not sure it's our best game this season, but it's certainly the most emotional. And it's more important to have some emotional games, because when you win it's a fantastic feeling."

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The FA Cup third round draw was made on Monday evening, with all 24 Championship clubs entering at this stage of the competition.

Ties will take place between Thursday, 8 January and Monday, 12 January.

These are the ties involving Championship clubs:

• Cambridge United v Birmingham City

• Hull City v Blackburn Rovers

• Bristol City v Watford

• Charlton Athletic v Chelsea

• Stoke City v Coventry

• Derby County v Leeds United

• Ipswich Town v Blackpool

• Cheltenham Town v Leicester City

• Fulham v Middlesbrough

• Burnley v Millwall

• Norwich City v Walsall

• MK Dons v Oxford United

• Portsmouth v Arsenal

• Preston North End v Wigan Athletic

• West Ham United v Queens Park Rangers

• Sheffield United v Mansfield Town

• Sheffield Wednesday v Brentford

• Doncaster Rovers v Southampton

• Swansea City v West Bromwich Albion

• Wrexham v Nottingham Forest

You can see the full draw here.

QPR and Birmingham City will both look to gain ground on the Championship play-off places when they meet at Loftus Road on Tuesday night (20:00 GMT).

The Hoops have won three of their past four games (L1) to move up from 16th to 10th and within two points of the top six.

Blues are tied on 28 points with QPR and sit in eighth but will be looking to improve on their away record with just two wins on the road so far this season (D2 L6).

• QPR have lost just two of their past 11 home league games against Birmingham (W6 D3), going down 4-3 in February 2019 and 1-0 in March 2023.

• Birmingham have won two of their past four league games against QPR (D1 L1), as many as they had in their previous 13 (D4 L7). They were winless against the Hoops the last time they faced in 2023-24, however.

• QPR have won five of their past six league games against promoted sides (L1), winning each of the previous three by a 3-1 scoreline. They last won more consecutively against promoted clubs between February and October 2008 (5).

• QPR have lost just one of their past five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games (W3 D1), though it was in their most recent such home game against Southampton last month.

• Birmingham have lost just one of their past 20 midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) league games (W15 D4), going down 3-1 at Bolton in March.

QPR head coach Julien Stephan praised his team for putting together "a good run" after they beat West Bromwich Albion at Loftus Road.

"I don't know if it's a fantastic performance but it's a fantastic result for us," Stephan told BBC Radio London.

"In the first half it was a tight game, with not a lot of situations offensively, but we had a very good move just before the end, a great delivery from Nicolas Madsen and a great finish by Jonathan.

"That changed the game because in the second half we had more space and started well with a good second goal and a great situation to score the third one as well. They scored for 2-1 but I know the mindset of these players, they want to continue to attack and they scored the third.

"Credit to the players because I wanted them to confirm the last win at home against Hull, so that's two home wins and a third win in the last four games, so it's a good run."

Table neighbours Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion will both try to pull ahead of the other when they meet at Loftus Road on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The two sides both have 25 points to their name, with QPR sitting just beneath their visitors on goal difference in 13th place.

But it's not just points they will be playing for.

The Hoops will be looking to consolidate their last home win after overcoming a three-match losing streak at the Loft against Hull, while the Baggies won their last game against Swansea and will be seeking their first back-to-back wins since the start of the season.

• QPR are winless in their last six league games against West Brom (D2 L4) since a 1-0 home win in January 2022.

• West Brom have won 11 of their 25 away league games against QPR (D4 L10), their highest away win rate of any side they've faced 20+ times on the road (44%).

• Having won four of their first five Championship home games in 2025 (L1), QPR have now won just three of their last 14 at Loftus Road (D5 L6).

• West Brom have lost each of their last five away league games, last losing more consecutively between December and February in the 2021-22 campaign (6).

• Last time out against Swansea, West Brom conceded the second earliest Championship goal on record (since 2013-14) – 11 seconds. However, they eventually came back to win from two goals behind for the first time since January 2023 against Luton.

Queens Park Rangers boss Julien Stephan says it is "important" to build on their home win against Hull City when they host West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Hoops claimed a 3-2 victory over the Tigers in their most recent game at Matrade Loftus Road for their only win in five league matches on home soil (D1 L3).

"It's a good opponent and it will be a tough game but we are at home," Stephan told BBC Radio London.

"We need to confirm how we played against Hull because between October and November, we lost three games in a row at home.

"We don't want to be happy to just win one game, we know we will face some good teams so 90% is not enough. We need to be at 100%, 100% of the time."

Listen to the full interview with Stephan and more QPR content on BBC Sounds.

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QPR defender Tylon Smith has been called into South Africa's senior squad for the first time for the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts later this month.

The 20-year-old, who joined the Londoners in July, is part of head coach Hugo Broos' 25-man squad for the tournament, which is being held in Morocco.

Smith won the U20 Afcon title with South Africa earlier this year and was also recently named one of Africa's top three young players of the year.

He has made one appearance for QPR so far this season, playing the full 90 minutes in their Carabao Cup first round defeat by Plymouth in August.

South Africa start their Afcon campaign against Angola in Marrakesh on 22 December before going on to face Egypt and Zimbabwe in the group stage.

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Development squad head coach Paul Furlong has left Queens Park Rangers after 14 years with the club.

The 57-year-old former striker made 183 appearances and scored 58 goals as a player for the R's.

He returned to the club as a coach in 2011 and saw his son Darnell Furlong come through the youth system to make his first-team debut in 2015.

"I have had an amazing 14 years at this football club as a coach after what was a very special period as a QPR player," he told the club's website., external

"Everyone who knows me knows what this club means to me and how proud I have been to represent it.

"There have been so many special memories to enjoy and savour. From a coaching perspective, being lucky enough to work with my own son meant so much. Watching Darnell come through the system to play for the first team ranks right up there.

"What has given me a lot of joy has been seeing others follow that path too. It is difficult to describe the sense of pride you have when a young boy you have coached walks out at Loftus Road to make his first-team debut."

Furlong represented the likes of Coventry City, Watford, Chelsea and Birmingham City over a 20-year playing career.

Norwich City claimed their first point at home on Tuesday and will now look for their first win as they welcome Queens Park Rangers on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Canaries were close to taking all three points at Carrow Road last time out but were thwarted by an added time winner from Oxford United.

Though taking on the Hoops may be a tougher task, with the visitors on a two match winning streak and eyeing up the competition for the top six.

• Norwich City have lost just one of their last 10 league games against QPR (W4 D5), a 3-0 away loss in December 2024.

• QPR are winless in their last 10 away league games against Norwich (D4 L6) since a 1-0 victory in September 2008.

• Norwich are winless in their last 13 league games (D4 L9); they last failed to win 14 in a row in April 1998 in the second tier.

• QPR have won five of their last 10 Championship games on a Saturday (D2 L3), one more than in their previous 31 such games (D13 L14).

• Four of Norwich's last eight goals in the Championship have been scored by Jovon Makama, netting last time out against Oxford United to help them secure their first home point of 2025-26.

QPR head coach Julien Stephan praised the clinical nature showed by Ilias Chair and Paul Smyth for the winner at Blackburn as his side climbed into the top half of the Championship.

"It was a strange game, to be honest," he told BBC Radio London. "We started well and had some good approach in the first half, but we didn't take good decisions.

"At half-time we said the most important is to be focused and clinical in the second half. It was the case with a very good ball from Ilias Chair and a nice finish from Smythy.

"I don't forget at 0-0 that Paul [Nardi] made a great save which was a very important moment for us. I want to congratulate Paul because I took a difficult decision for him two games ago - I wanted to change the goalkeeper. He is a great person, a very good goalkeeper and he showed his qualities.

"Just enjoy the moment and be focused on the next game because it will arrive quickly. We have Norwich away and then three games the week after."

Blackburn have won four of their past five Championship matches heading into their meeting with QPR on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

But Rovers have lost out of three at home and come up against a QPR side beaten just once in their previous six road trips.

• None of the past 15 league meetings between Blackburn and QPR have been drawn, with Rovers winning 10 of those (L5).

• QPR have lost seven of their past eight away league games against Blackburn, with the exception being a 2-1 win in February 2024.

• Only Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich have lost more home league games than Blackburn (5) in the Championship this season, with Rovers' only home win coming against Southampton last month.

• Having conceded nine goals in their first two away league games this season, QPR have conceded just four in their subsequent six on the road.

• Blackburn manager Valerien Ismael has won five of his six league games against QPR (L1), including all three at home by an aggregate score of 9-1.

Image source, Rex Features

Queen's Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan hailed his side's "mental reaction" following their comeback 3-2 victory over Hull City.

The Tigers led at Loftus Road on two separate occasions through Joe Gelhardt and Enis Destan but equalisers from Ilias Chair, Jimmy Dunne and then a 66th minute winner from Rumarn Burrell ended the Rangers four match winless streak.

"Of course the win is very important but for me the performance is also very important because it means a lot to win a game like this with that level of play," said Stephan to BBC Radio London.

"I think offensively it was our best performance since the start of the season. Very good movement, a great number of opportunities — 26 shots, 3.5 xG, so it's a lot without a penalty and credit to the players; they deserve this win.

"Another reason I enjoyed this game was the mental reaction after we conceded the first and second goals, because they shot only once in the first half and scored.

"But we stayed focused, the players stuck to the plan, and continued to play how we wanted."