- 1 West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers: two early-season shocks meet
- 2 West Bromwich Albion: two straight 1-0 wins and confidence back
- 3 Queens Park Rangers: a solid top-four side, but the treatment room is packed
- 4 Championship Prediction West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information that can change
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers: two early-season shocks meet 
Few expected West Bromwich Albion to be top of the Championship after six matches, and even fewer had Queens Park Rangers inside the top four. Yet here they are, facing off at midday on Saturday at The Hawthorns, with just two points between them.
Albion have 13 points from four wins, one draw and one defeat. QPR are on 11, having lost the same number of games.
The backdrop makes this one even more intriguing. Only a few months ago, the Baggies were grinding through their worst season since the start of the 21st century, stuck in a proper fight to stay up.
Julien Stephan, meanwhile, is into his second season in charge in London after four straight finishes in the bottom half from 2023 to 2026. This start has completely changed the mood around the club.
Both sides come in off very different midweek results. Albion won 1-0 at Derby County, while QPR were held to a frustrating 0-0 by Charlton Athletic at The Valley.
Kick-off is on Saturday 12 September at 13:30 at The Hawthorns. A packed run of fixtures now awaits the Baggies, with the derby against Wolverhampton coming within the next 10 days.
The defensive numbers tell their own story. Albion have conceded six, while QPR have shipped only four, the best total in the division alongside Swansea City.
So it is Albion’s attack, with nine goals in six games, that will have to crack the London side’s stubborn back line. The battle between Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Stephan’s defence is the real tactical angle here.
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West Bromwich Albion: two straight 1-0 wins and confidence back 
Albion went top of the Championship thanks to back-to-back 1-0 wins, against Watford and then at Derby. Nine goals scored and six conceded in six matches tells you everything: this is a side built on efficiency, not flair.
Wednesday’s win at Pride Park carried extra weight. It was only the club’s second victory at Derby since 1919, and they did it with 10 men for much of the game.
Aune Heggebo scored the only goal, turning in a superb cross from Jimmy-Jay Morgan at the near post before the break.
Morgan has been the real breakout star for the Baggies this season. Signed this summer from Chelsea’s academy, he already has six goal contributions in six second-tier matches.
James Morrison is now chasing a third straight league win. Albion have not managed that since September 2024, back in the Carlos Corberan era.
The downside is on the right side of defence. Brayann Pereira is suspended after collecting a second yellow card in the 34th minute on his debut at Derby.
Noah Galves also left Pride Park with what looked like a serious knee injury. Morrison has a proper headache in that position.
The likeliest fix is to move Callum Styles to the right side of a back four, with Conor Townsend on the left. It is a patch-up job, but West Brom showed at Derby they can adapt.
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Queens Park Rangers: a solid top-four side, but the treatment room is packed 
QPR sit fourth with 11 points from six games. Three wins, two draws and one defeat: the kind of start that says they mean business.
The defensive record jumps out first. Only four goals conceded, level with Swansea City for the best mark in the division. The Londoners have built their opening to the season on that base.
The last away trip, though, left a bitter taste. At The Valley, Stephan’s men dominated for long spells but failed to turn it into goals, with Charlton not even managing a shot on target against Pierce Charles.
The summer 2026 window brought in some quality, starting with Tariq Lamptey. The former Brighton & Hove Albion full-back arrived on a free and was supposed to add pace down the flank.
Instead, Lamptey had to come off at Charlton, along with Jimmy Dunne. Both are expected to miss the trip to the Midlands.
They would join an already crowded treatment room, with Richard Kone and Ilias Chair dealing with muscle problems and Karamoko Dembele sidelined by a knee issue. Five possible absentees is a lot for a squad of this size.
Recent history at The Hawthorns does not help either. QPR are seven league visits without a win there, with two draws and five defeats.
You have to go back to April 2015 and a Premier League match to find their last victory at this ground. Charlie Austin, Bobby Zamora and Joey Barton were among the scorers that day.
Probable West Bromwich Albion line-up: O’Leary ; Styles, Phillips, Campbell, Townsend ; Whitwell, Nzingoula, Diakite, Price ; Morgan, Heggebo
Probable Queens Park Rangers line-up: Charles ; Adamson, Clarke-Salter, Edwards, Cirkin ; Vale, Kamara, Madsen, Obikwu ; Burrell, Lloyd
Championship Prediction West Bromwich Albion vs Queens Park Rangers
Our prediction: West Bromwich Albion win
Albion are at home, top of the table, and come in off a win with 10 men at a ground that has historically been tricky. The form and the setting both point the same way.
QPR arrive with five possible absentees, including Lamptey and Dunne, who both went off injured on Wednesday. It is hard to back an away upset with that much taken out of the side.
Seven straight league trips without a win at The Hawthorns, plus a last victory there back in 2015, pretty much settles it. West Bromwich make it three wins in a row.
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