Queens Park Rangers take on Southampton at Loftus Road in the Championship on Saturday.
Marti Cifuentes began life as QPR head coach after replacing Gareth Ainsworth at the end of October, but his side have lost trouble against two of their relegation rivals in the last two games.
After drawing 0-0 at home to Plymouth Argyle last Wednesday night, despite the Pilgrims playing much of the game with 10 men, the R’s were beaten 2-1 by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday.
The R’s took the lead in the 37th minute when Bambo Diaby diverted Ilias Chair’s strike into his own net, but Wednesday improved in the second half, and they deservedly equalised in the 86th minute through Bailey Cadamarteri.
Substitute Osman Kakay missed an excellent chance to restore the Hoops’ advantage, and the Owls sealed all three points in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Anthony Musaba fired home after Ashley Fletcher’s header hit the post.
Cifuentes’ team is currently in 22nd place in the standings, two safety points behind.
Southampton extended their unbeaten run to 14 games with an emphatic 4-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at St Mary’s on Saturday.
Stuart Armstrong and Will Smallbone pulled the Saints closer before taking the lead just before halftime when Samuel Edozie fired home from close range for his second goal in two games.
Rovers were reduced to 10 men when Callum Brittain was shown a second yellow card for kicking the ball, and Southampton took all the credit, with Armstrong doubling their lead in the 64th minute.
The Saints then conceded a penalty when Hayden Carter brought down Sekou Mara, Carlos Alcaraz fired his penalty over the crossbar.
However, the hosts discovered the two goals in stoppage time, with Mara and Alcaraz scoring to seal the overall victory.
Russell Martin’s men are fourth in the table, 10 adrift of second-placed Ipswich Town and thirteen adrift of leaders Leicester City.
QPR were without defender Ziyad Larkeche at Hillsborough after he took a knock to the head against Plymouth, with Cifuentes revealing before the game that the Frenchman was being assessed.
“I have to talk to the medical team to see how he is and comply with the protocols,” Cifuentes told the club’s official website.
“We have a very experienced medical department who will do their best to see if the player can be available or not.”
It remains to be seen if Larkeche will be available this weekend, while midfielder Jack Colback is also a doubt after missing the last 3 games with a muscle injury.
Southampton have been buoyed by midfielder Flynn Downes’ return against Blackburn after recovering from illness, but the Saints are without long-term absentees Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ross Stewart and Juan Larios.
The game will not be shown on television as the blackout for Saturday 3pm kick-offs remains in place this season.
Fans can follow updates on Gillette Labs Soccer on Saturday on Sky Sports News, with highlights can be seen on ITV4’s English Football League Highlights at 9pm. on Saturday night, repeated at 11:10 p. m. on ITV1.
QPR supporters can still buy tickets here, while Southampton fans can purchase tickets for the away end here.
The match will start at 3:00 p. m. Saturday afternoon.
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