Tottenham Hotspur continue their pre-season preparations with a short trip to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon. This London derby promises to be an intriguing affair as both sides look to build momentum ahead of their respective campaigns.
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have hit the ground running in pre-season, notching impressive victories against Cambridge United (7-2) and Hearts (5-1). The Lilywhites will be eager to maintain their perfect record before jetting off to Asia for the next phase of their preparations.
QPR, under the guidance of Marti Cifuentes, enter the match in equally prolific form. The R’s dismantled Spanish minnows FC L’Escala 11-0 in their last outing, with Ilias Chair bagging a hat-trick.
Team News and Predicted Lineups
Tottenham will be without several key players still recovering from international duty, including Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, and new signing Micky van de Ven. This presents an opportunity for fringe players and youngsters to impress.
Postecoglou is likely to field two different XIs in each half, as he did against Hearts. Expect a mix of established first-teamers and promising prospects.
Predicted Tottenham XI (4-2-3-1): Bergvall, Maddison, Porro, Phillips, Skipp, Johnson, Son, Bissouma, Emerson, Werner
QPR have a near full-strength squad to choose from, with striker Lyndon Dykes the only confirmed absentee. Sam Field is a slight doubt after being withdrawn early against L’Escala as a precaution.
Predicted QPR XI (4-2-3-1): Frey, Paal, Smyth, Clarke-Salter, Chair, Cook, Field, Cannon, Kolli, Colback, Nardi
Players to Watch
All eyes will be on Tottenham’s £40 million signing Archie Gray. The 18-year-old midfielder, who arrived from Leeds United, made his debut off the bench against Hearts and could feature more prominently at Loftus Road.
For QPR, Ilias Chair will be looking to build on his hat-trick heroics. The Moroccan playmaker was instrumental in the R’s late-season survival push last term and will be key to their ambitions this season.
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What to Expect
While pre-season results should be taken with a grain of salt, both sides have shown a knack for goalscoring in their warm-up matches. QPR will relish the chance to test themselves against Premier League opposition, while Spurs continue to adapt to Postecoglou’s attack-minded philosophy.
The Australian manager has emphasized the importance of “competitiveness” and “intensity” in these friendlies. Expect an open, entertaining affair with plenty of rotation as both sides fine-tune their preparations.
This match represents Tottenham’s final UK-based friendly before their Asia tour, where they’ll face Vissel Kobe, Team K-League, and Bayern Munich. They’ll be keen to leave on a high note before these tougher tests.
For QPR, a strong showing against Spurs could instill belief for a more positive Championship campaign after last season’s relegation scare. The R’s impressive late run, winning five of their last eight league matches, helped them finish 18th, six points clear of danger.
Given the attacking talent on display and defenses still finding their feet, we could be in for a goal-fest at Loftus Road. Recent history favors Tottenham, who won the last competitive meeting between these sides 2-1 in March 2015, courtesy of a Harry Kane double.
With temperatures expected to be high, both managers may use the opportunity to assess their squad’s fitness levels. Keep an eye out for some of Spurs’ returning internationals potentially making cameo appearances in the latter stages.
As the new season approaches, this London derby friendly offers both sets of fans a tantalizing glimpse of what’s to come. Kick-off is at 3 PM BST, with the match available to stream on QPR+ and SpursPlay for UK viewers.