Middlesbrough v QPR Betting Tip 1, 2015-11-20

Hosts to get back to winning ways against QPR

Championship Tips

Friday 20th November 2015 Kickoff: 1945hrs
Middlesbrough v QPR
Football – England – Championship

Following the final international break or 2015, the Championship returns this weekend and the first fixture see’s Middlesbrough entertain a QPR side now under the stewardship of Neil Warnock following the dismissal of Chris Ramsey. It would have been a long wait for both sides between the their last fixtures and this game, and neither will want to begin what is the start of a very busy period with further dropped points.

A humbling 3-0 defeat away to Hull was how a ‘Boro went into the international break – only the second time they have lost by three goals under Aitor Karanka. They’re still in a good position in the league, however, and a win on Friday would move them to within a point of first place, which is currently held by Steve Bruce’s men. The home for Middlesbrough this season has been very good, in the main, with the only real blot the surprise loss to Bristol City back in August. Other than that, they have won six times at the a Riverside, and have conceded just two goals at home in their eight Championship games. Unsurprisingly, that is the best record in the league and they come into this match looking to extend their run of clean sheets at home, to five.

Having been in charge for barely nine months, Ramsey’s time as QPR’s manager came to and end following a run of one win in six games. Warnock – who was manager at Loftus Road between 2010 and 2012 – has been given the opportunity to get the club through to the end of November, but he will not commit to saying whether he wants the job or not on a permanent basis. In the short-term, Warnock has to find some way of getting the team moving in the right direction. ‘Rangers currently sit in 13th place, some eight points off the play-off zone and a further two behind their opponents on Friday. One of his first aims will be to improve their fortunes in front of goal as QPR have failed to score in four of their last five league games, which is something of a surprise as they had scored pretty freely in the earlier stages of the season.

Despite getting so close to winning promotion to the Premier League last season – both automatically and via the play-offs – Middlesborough ultimately fell short and one of the main reasons for that was the lack of goals. ‘Boro scored the fewest goals of any team who finished in the top eight, and at least 20 less than the three sides who finished above them. It’s clearly an issue that Karanka was keen to rectify and whilst they are certainly not free-scoring, they are on par with the other teams challenging at the top of the table. Key to that improvement has been the signings of David Nugent and Stewart Downing, amongst others. Both are vastly experienced and have added further quality to what was already a very able squad. The money paid for them, however, will only be justified if it secures promotion to the top flight.

QPR may have had to move on some of their playing squad following relegation last season, but their current position does not reflect the level of ability in their squad. I have mentioned several times how impressed I have been with Charlie Austin over the last couple of seasons, and expected him to be a massive player as the London club looked to bounce back at the first time of asking. Unfortunately for all concerned, Austin’s season has been interrupted with injury and he’s yet to find the form he’s capable of. He remains the club’s top scorer which signifies that other members of the squad have simply not been anywhere good enough. Austin has not scored since the middle of September, which is coincidentally when the team’s form started to dip, dramatically.

Middlesbrough v QPR Betting Tips

It’s always a dangerous game to wager money on a game that involves a team who are under a new manager – even if it’s only one in temporary charge. That worry could be extended further by the fact that the new manager is Neil Warnock, someone who knows how to get a team fired up, particularly at this level.

Karanka will not be worrying about that, however, he will be more concerned with how poor his team were in defeat to Hull a fortnight ago. ‘Boro were very poor that day and the players will be looking to get back on the winning trail as they build their challenge for automatic promotion.

It would be naive to think that the visitors will not be improved by Warnock, and having the international break will have given him to to work with a lot of the squad in anticipation of this. Even taking that into account, Warnock could not have asked for a harder fixture and I think it will be a step too far for him. The hosts are very strong at the Riverside and having been itching to get back on the park following their last game, they can get back to winning ways and move closer to top spot.

Middlesbrough 7/10 @ Skybet