Our prediction for this Championship match:
Queens Park Rangers and Derby County go head to head at Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in the Championship round 43. The Hoops do not seem to be at their sharpest in the season finale, and, as a result, they have slim playoffs chances. Since QPR collected only one point in total from the last five league fixtures, home win should not be considered. To make things even worse for the capital club, all Hendrick, Dieng, Willock, Dickie, Marshall, and Wallace are out of contention with injuries.
The Rams, on the other hand, aim to keep their survival hopes alive. Wayne Rooney’s troops are nine points behind the safe zone, meaning that this has to go down as a must-win game for the away team. Since Derby proved their worth in a 2-1 win over league leaders Fulham, away triumph should be considered. Colin Kazim-Richards should be the only absentee in the away team.
Highlighted Player (Andre Gray):
Wolverhampton-born striker Andre Gray is a product of the Shrewsberry Town youth academy who hit the limelight during his two loan spell with Luton Town. A no-nonsense forward endured a difficult childhood which left him with a four-inch scar on his left cheek after he got stabbed in the face in a gang-related incident back in 2011.
Fortunately, Andre Grey was pulled out of the gang lifestyle by his mother and close friends and focused on his football career. Having scored 57 goals in 111 appearances with The Hatters, Gray was prized away by Brentford in a club-record deal at the time. Just a season later Gray moved to Burnley where he hit 23 goals in 41 Championship appearances to emerge as a vital cog in his club’s Premier League push in 2014/15. After nine goals in 32 top-flight appearances with he Clarets, Gray was transferred to Watford for yet another club-record fee.
The Englishman’s prolific goalscoring record in the Football League was brought to a halt, however, with Gray scoring just five goals in 31 Premier League appearances during the 2017/18 season.
Highlighted Team (Derby):
Derby County is one of the 12 founder members of the Football League. However, nowadays the Rams compete in the Championship and they play their home matches at Pride Park Stadium. Derby County have won the two trophies in the English top flight (1971/1972, 1974/1975), with the team lifting the FA Cup trophy just after the World War II (1946).
Derby’s main rivals are Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Leeds United, but the rivalry between Forest and Derby is regarded as the biggest one.
The two teams take on each other in the East Midlands derby. The colour of Derby’s shirts is white, whilst their shorts are black. It has to be noted that the club was founded in 1884 by William Morley. The Rams competed in the European competitions four times, but they did not record a notable result in the European Cups. The club’s chairman is Mel Morris.