Sunderland and QPR face off this Saturday at the Stadium of Light in the final matchweek of the EFL Championship season. The match will be broadcast live at 12:30 on Sky Sports +.
The Mackems have 76 points to their name this season and occupy fourth position in the table - as they have done for a very long time! Last time out, Régis Le Bris's team slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Oxford United.
QPR enter the game in 15th position after an eventful week that saw manager Martí Cifuentes placed on gardening leave in the wake of the Londoners' 0-5 defeat against Burnley last weekend.
The last meeting between these two teams ended in a 0-0 draw.
The Fan Zone
Graham Falk (WTF Sunderland Podcast): While it's another game that means little for us (or QPR, to be fair), Sunderland could really do with lifting the spirits of the fanbase after four straight defeats in a row.
Last week's defeat at Oxford United was arguably our worst performance of the season with our strongest side available. While resting and rotating could be blamed for the previous three defeats, last week couldn't - and that needs to be remedied on Saturday in order to inject some confidence, if not momentum, ahead of a mammoth playoff campaign.
Will we get the win we need? Yeah...I think we're due a good win.
Prediction: 2-0
Ben Platt (W12 Podcast): It’s never a quiet week at QPR, and this one has been no exception. Following a heavy 5-0 defeat at home to Burnley over the weekend, news broke on Tuesday that Marti Cifuentes had been placed on gardening leave—a clear sign of a turbulent period for the R’s.
Cifuentes had been strongly linked with the vacant managerial position at West Brom, with reports indicating he had even held discussions with the club. Add to this further reports of a rift between CEO and manager. In response, QPR opted to part ways and begin the search for a new head coach.
Kevin Betsy and Xavi Calm will take charge for Saturday’s trip to Sunderland, tasked with lifting the squad after that humbling loss. They’ll likely have a similar group of players at their disposal, with no injured players expected to return in time. Though we may see a different line-up to that we saw vs Burnley.
1.85 
2.10 
