Sheffield Wednesday return home for their first home league game of the season after a disappointing trip to Preston last weekend. QPR did just the opposite, they recorded a great 2-0 home victory over Reading to give them a solid start to the season. I am expecting to see Sheffield Wednesday amongst the teams who are fighting for promotion this season, while QPR are expected to finish in the bottom half of the table.
This looks set to be a tough trip for QPR and Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to bounce back after an opening day loss here.
Sheffield Wednesday Form
The opening day defeat at Preston will have hurt the Sheffield Wednesday fans, not just because they lost but also the manner of their defeat. For a team that has so many different attacking options, Wednesday looked poor going forward and created very little. That is something they need to change and finding the right balance and mix of players is a priority for them.
On Tuesday night they returned home and won 4-1 in the League Cup against Chesterfield. That was a nice way to bounce back, although they did fall 1-0 behind early in the game. They need to use the momentum from that win to turn things around and make up for last week’s loss in this game. If Wednesday are going to realistically challenge then a good start to the campaign is needed, they can’t play catch up all season.
QPR Form
It was a little bit of a surprise to see QPR beat Reading 2-0 last weekend, although Reading did have a player sent off. Still, that was a good result for them and they will head to Hillsborough with confidence that they can get something from the game. I do think once the season gets going though that QPR will only be a bottom half of the table team and going away to places like Sheffield Wednesday is going to be very tough for them.
They managed to get through into the second round of the League Cup on Tuesday thanks to a 1-0 victory over Northampton at home. They head out for their first away game of the season on the back of two home wins and two clean sheets, they are sure to be full of confidence. This may be the right time to catch Sheffield Wednesday too.
Team News
Sheffield Wednesday have an abundance of attacking options in their line-up, last week they choose Jordan Rhodes and Fernando Forestieri but who knows who will start this week. There problem may be that they simply have too much choice and they can’t find the winning formula. Either way, constantly changing their attacking partnership will not help in the long run, they need to find a winning partnership and stick with it.
QPR striker Conor Washington bagged both goals last weekend and he looks sure to start this weekend. Wednesday will have to find a way to stop him in this game, although he is not the only threat that QPR have. Massimo Luongo was also in fine form and hit the post during the first half, his creativity from midfield is something else Wednesday need to watch out for.
Top Betting Tips
Despite Sheffield Wednesday coming here on the back of a disappointing defeat and QPR coming here on the back of a good win, I am going to back Sheffield Wednesday to win the game. They are very good at home and are a much better team than QPR. They are sure to have been fired up after last weekend and I am expecting a reaction from them here.
QPR did very well at home last weekend but I don’t believe they can replicate that performance on their travels, especially against someone as good as Sheffield Wednesday. There is little value backing Sheffield Wednesday in this game so I am going to look for a correct score to back. I am going to pick out the score 2-0 to Sheffield Wednesday, which can be backed at 7/1 with Ladbrokes and Coral. They have enough firepower to beat QPR and their toughest task may be finding which partnership is going to work for them the best out of their attacking options.
Despite the results last weekend, I am confident that Sheffield Wednesday can bounce back here and prove to be too strong for QPR, who impressed last weekend but are a bottom half team.