The Sky Blues travel to the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium to play Queens Park Rangers on Good Friday. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.

Fact File

Name: Queens Park Rangers

Founded: 1882

Stadium: Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium (first opened 1904)

Capacity: 18,439

Nickname: The R’s, Rangers

Address: South Africa Road, Shepherd’s Bush, London, W12 7PJ

Pitch Size: 102 x 66 yards

The Opposition

QPR are currently 12^th in the Sky Bet Championship table 12 points away from the play-off places having enjoyed an excellent season since the turn of the year.

The R’s top scorer is Ilias Chair who has scored seven goals this season whilst also providing three assists with Lyndon Dykes and Charlie Austin both netting six goals respectively.

The capital club have won nine of their last 15 league matches and come into this Friday’s clash having lost just once in their last five outings.

Manager

Mark Warburton was appointed as QPR manager in May 2019 and enjoyed a good first season in charge at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium last term.

Warburton began his managerial career with fellow capital club Brentford, relinquishing his role as Sporting Director to become caretaker boss until the end of the 2013/14 campaign.

He carried on the Bees good form to achieve promotion to the Championship before then reaching the play-off semi-finals in his first full season at the helm in 2014/15.

Despite his success with Brentford, Warburton departed for Scottish giants Rangers in June 2015, successfully guiding the club back into the Premiership as well as winning the Scottish Challenge Cup.

He returned to management with Nottingham Forest in March 2017 and helped keep Forest in the second tier on goal difference but was sacked after just nine months in charge in December that same year.

With QPR, Warburton has managed 89 games recording 30 wins, 22 draws and 37 defeats.

Last Six Games

Drew – Reading 1-1 QPR (Sky Bet Championship)

Won – QPR 3-2 Millwall (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – QPR 0-1 Huddersfield (Sky Bet Championship)

Won – QPR 1-0 Wycombe (Sky Bet Championship)

Won – Bristol City 0-2 QPR (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – QPR 1-3 Barnsley (Sky Bet Championship)

Last Time We Met

The two sides last met at the beginning of this season when the Sky Blues secured a 3-2 win at St Andrew’s in a five-goal thriller which marked City’s first victory since their return to the second tier.

QPR went ahead on 41 minutes when Lyndon Dykes smashed home a penalty from 12-yards out after Kyle McFadzean was deemed to have fouled Bright Osayi-Samuel inside the area.

The Sky Blues were level just three minutes later when Ryan Giles floated a cross to the back post for Matty Godden whose downwards header went through the legs of R’s keeper Joe Lumley and into the net.

City completed the turnaround early in the second half when Fankaty Dabo’s cross from the right found the feet of Callum O’Hare who drove towards goal and fired an effort into the bottom left corner from close range.

Rangers equalised on 75 minutes when City failed to deal with a corner from the left which found its way to Yoann Barbet at the back post who lashed an effort past Marko Marosi and into the roof of the net.

The Sky Blues found a winning goal with five minutes left to play when Kyle McFadzean powered home Gus Hamer’s corner from the right, heading the ball into the top-right corner to score his first goal for the club.

Head-to-Head Record

Sky Blues Wins – 48

Draws – 31

QPR Wins – 42

Club Connections

Mark Hateley

Former England international striker Mark Hateley started his career with the Sky Blues before featuring for QPR towards the end of his playing days.

Hateley made over 100 appearances for City during his five seasons with the Sky Blues scoring 34 goals and took in a loan spell with American side Detroit Express as well as featuring for England at youth level.

He moved to Portsmouth in 1983, then playing in the Second Division, and scored 22 goals in his only season at Fratton Park before signing for Italian giants AC Milan in 1984.

The striker scored the winner in the Milan derby during his time at the San Siro and spent three seasons in Italy before joining Arsene Wenger’s Monaco side in 1987.

He helped Monaco win the league title in his first season with the club, scoring 14 goals in his maiden Ligue 1 campaign, before returning to Britain with Rangers after three years in the principality.

Hateley enjoyed the best spell of his career with the Gers scoring over 100 goals during his five seasons with the Glasgow club, winning five league titles, the Scottish Cup twice and the Scottish League Cup on three occasions.

He moved to QPR in 1995 and spent two seasons with the R’s scoring five goals and spent a brief spell on loan with Leeds United before being sold back to Rangers in 1997 where he won another league title.

The 59-year-old returned to England with Hull City, then playing in the Third Division, later that same year where he acted as player-manager until his sacking in November 1998 before ending his playing career back in Scotland with Ross County.

Hateley also earned 32 caps for England scoring nine goals.

Gary Bannister

Striker Gary Bannister came through the Sky Blues academy before going on to impress for QPR and then return to City for a second spell with the club.

Bannister was an apprentice with the club before working his way up through the youth ranks and into the first-team where he made 26 appearances scoring three goals as well as taking in a loan spell with American side Detroit Express.

He was sold to Sheffield Wednesday in 1981 where he scored 22 goals in his each of his three seasons with the Yorkshire club to become a firm fan favourite, helping fire the Owls back to the First Division in his final season at Hillsborough.

The England youth international joined QPR in the summer of 1984 and continued his fine goalscoring form with R’s, reaching double figures in each of his four seasons at Loftus Road.

Having scored 72 goals in 172 appearances for Rangers he returned to the Sky Blues in March 1988 and would spend the next two years with City scoring 13 goals in 48 matches before moving to West Bromwich Albion in March 1990.

Bannister spent three seasons with the Baggies, which included a loan spell with Oxford United, before finishing his career with season-long stints at Nottingham Forest, Stoke City, Lincoln City and Darlington.

Match Officials

Jeremy Simpson will be the man in the middle on Good Friday, taking charge of his 25^th game of the 2020/21 season.

He last refereed the Sky Blues in November last year when City secured a 1-0 win against Cardiff City at St Andrew’s.

This will be Simpson’s ninth season as a Football League referee and he has officiated the Sky Blues on nine previous occasions, with City winning two, drawing four and losing three of those matches.

So far, Simpson has awarded 70 yellow cards and four red cards across 24 matches in the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League One and Carabao Cup.

He will be assisted by Nigel Lugg and Lee Venamore with Adrian Quelch acting as fourth official.