Hull v QPR: Relegation rivals battle to draw clear of drop zone

Queens Park Rangers can claim back-to-back victories for the first time this season when they travel to fellow relegation contenders Hull City on Saturday.

Having ended their season-long wait for a Premier League away win at Sunderland, Rangers will be looking to replicate the result at the KC Stadium and give their hopes of survival a boost against one of their closest rivals.

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Hull ended a run of five games without a win themselves with victory against Aston Villa last time out, but the Tigers have found results hard to come by while coming to terms with a catalogue of injuries.

Both sides occupy the places immediately above the bottom three with just a point and a place seperating the teams before kick off. Three points for either side will see them take a big step closer to safety.

Team news

Hull are once again without midfielder Mohamed Diame, who was expected to feature for the first time this year but sits out having hurt his knee in training.

Diame's latest injury setback means Steve Bruce could field the same XI that started last week's 2-0 win over Aston Villa, while James Chester (shoulder), Liam Rosenior (hamstring) and Robert Snodgrass (knee) remain long-term injuries.

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QPR welcome back top goalscorer Charlie Austin for their trip to the KC Stadium. The 13-goal striker missed the 2-0 win at Sunderland with a foot injury but manager Chris Ramsey has said Austin is back in contention after returning to training.

Mauricio Isla is the latest Rangers player to be sidelined with an injured knee and joins Leroy Fer, Sandro, Richard Dunne and Alejandro Faurlin as players who will miss out through different knee problems. Nedum Onuoha has a hamstring injury.

Opta facts

Hull City have conceded a Premier League-high 11 goals from outside the penalty area this season, while QPR are second having shipped eight.

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QPR have allowed their opponents 139 shots on target against them; 10 more than any other team in the top flight.

In the 44 meetings in all competitions between the Tigers and Rangers, there have been 15 draws, 15 QPR wins and 14 Hull victories.

Three of the last four league meetings between Hull and QPR have ended as draws, and there have been just five goals in those last matches.

Joey Barton is on a Premier League record run of seven consecutive yellow cards.

Michael Dawson has blocked on average 1.5 shots per game, a higher rate than any other player in the top flight.

Merson's prediction

This is a massive game which neither side can afford to lose. It’s a really tight game at the bottom of the league and I’m expecting both sides to be very cautious. I didn’t see QPR winning away at Sunderland, if I’m being honest, and they will have plenty of confidence going up to Hull. I just cannot separate these two sides.   

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PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1

Betting

Hull are rated favourites by Sky Bet at evens, with QPR 14/5 to collect the three points and 23/10 to secure a draw. Both sides are considered among the favourites in the relegation betting, with the Tigers 7/4 to go down and their visitors even shorter odds at 5/6. Nikica Jelavic and Dame N’Doye are the 9/2 joint favourites in the first goalscorer betting, while Charlie Austin is unsurprisingly considered the visitors’ biggest threat at 11/2 to net first.