Garry Monk is all set to take charge of Leeds United in a competitive game for the first time tomorrow, as the Whites make the trip to Loftus Road for a 3 o'clock kick-off.

Monk's United go into this one after seeing off Serie A side Atalanta at Elland Road, winning 2-1 in their last pre-season outing ahead of the new campaign. On Tuesday, the Whites received a further boost with Pablo Hernández joining from Qatari side Al-Arabi, initially on loan.

United's last visit to Loftus Road came back in November 2015 under the management of Steve Evans, and the match saw the R's secure a 1-0 win courtesy of a Charlie Austin goal. When the sides met at Elland Road back in April, Leeds were just minutes away from recording a 1-0 success of their own, but QPR's Dutch midfielder Tjaronn Chery played the role of party pooper, converting a late penalty with aplomb to salvage a point for the West London side.

Leeds will indeed be aiming to secure a win over Rangers for the first time since May 2011, when goals from Max Gradel and Ross McCormack saw the Whites put something of a dampener on QPR's title celebrations.

Team News

(Leeds) - Head coach Garry Monk has a fully fit squad to choose from, after centre-back Liam Cooper recovered from a calf injury recently. Cooper returned to training this week, but he did miss all five of United's pre-season clashes, meaning that he'll most likely be named on the bench. Sol Bamba and Kyle Bartley are expected to start alongside one another in central defence.

(Leeds) - Former England international Rob Green is primed for a return to his old stomping ground after impressing in the win over Atalanta. The stopper, who also lists Norwich and West Ham as former employers, made 128 appearances during his four years at Loftus Road.

(Leeds) - Pablo Hernández is in contention for a debut after joining from Qatari moneybags Al-Arabi, but his Leeds United career is likely to begin on the substitutes bench.

(Queens Park Rangers) - Rangers, who go into this game following a convincing 2-0 pre-season victory over Premier League side Watford, will head into this fixture without striker Jamie Mackie and midfielder Ariel Borysiuk, with the former out for three months with ankle ligament damage and the latter now just a few weeks away from a return to action following an ankle injury. Defender Jack Robinson is also sidelined with shin splints.

Media - Garry Monk and Sol Bamba

Leeds United head coach Garry Monk was understandably delighted about having a fully fit squad to choose from, and he says that it is the perfect situation to be in.

“It’s the perfect situation to be in,” Monk told leedsunited.com. “It makes it a bit more difficult for a manager, but it’s fine — like I’ve said before, we’ve got a lot of games and all of the squad will be used. “They’ll all play an important role in what we’re doing. “All of the squad are available and ready for selection — we’re looking forward to Sunday.”

On Tuesday, Monk bolstered his squad with a seventh signing of the summer in the form of Pablo Hernández, a player who he previously worked with at Swansea City.

“Pablo comes in with great experience and great quality,” said Monk. “He will add to the squad and help the younger players with his experience and the way that we play.

“I’m delighted to get Pablo in — he’s a fantastic professional as well. All of those things will only improve us as a team and those younger ones in terms of lending that experience to them. “He’s very versatile and of great quality. He’s played at a very high level throughout his career. “Having that within the squad will always add quality and options for where we need to go forward.”

Other news to emerge from Elland Road earlier in the week was the news that Sol Bamba has retained his captaincy of the team, and the 31-year-old defender admitted that it was "a massive honour" to captain the club.

“It’s a massive honour for me — I never take it for granted.

“It’s a huge honour for me to represent the club and for my family as well. I’m going to do it to the best of my ability and hopefully I can make the club and the fans proud.

“People just see it on the pitch — it’s more obvious as you’ve got the armband on — but I think it’s also a massive job off the pitch to make sure everyone is okay and that I know what everyone needs. Sometimes it’s just a quick chat or to go for a coffee with someone to make sure they’re okay.

“I think that’s the most difficult part of the job because on the pitch it’s just football, we know what to do. Outside it’s about knowing what the player needs.”

Opposition In Profile - Queens Park Rangers

Founded in 1886, Queens Park Rangers have often been met with derision in recent years due to handing out ludicrous sums of money to agents and mercenary footballers. After suffering relegation back to the Championship in 2014-15, the R's have tried to rebuild, recruiting a crop of talented young players whilst phasing out the overpaid mercenaries. Despite being in a transitional phase for much of last season, the club must have been disappointed at only finishing in 12th last season, and former United man Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, now manager of tomorrow's opposition, will be looking for better this term.

Some of the more reputable names within the current squad at Loftus Road are Nedum Onuoha and Tjaronn Chery. Onuoha, a defender, formerly played for Manchester City, making 95 appearances for the club prior to switching to Rangers in 2012, whilst Chery , an attacking midfielder, has been with the club since last summer, when he signed from FC Groningen.

The club play their home games at the 18,489 capacity Loftus Road in Shepherd's Bush, London. They are owned by the Tune Group and their chairmen are Tony Fernandes and Ruben Gnanalingam.

Star Players

Queens Park Rangers - Rangers' danger man is 28-year-old Dutch attacking midfielder Tjaronn Chery, a player who rattled in 10 goals last season. His lethal shooting capabilities along with his trickery and flair have made him a hit with the fans at Loftus Road.

Leeds United - United's danger man is Kemar Roofe, a player who banged in 25 goals for Oxford last season whilst also notching up 12 assists. He scored his first goal for his new club against Atalanta last time out, and his eye for goal and attacking prowess in the final third will cause many a defence problems throughout the upcoming season.

Writers' View Ahead Of The Game

I'm looking forward to the return of competitive football. Loftus Road is never an easy place to go, but with that said I don't believe that there is such a thing as an easy game in this division. We have an articulate and ambitious coaching team in place, and we've bolstered our attacking options significantly with the signings of Kemar Roofe, Marcus Antonsson and Pablo Hernández. Taking these things into account, I firmly believe that as long as we can keep Chery quiet, we have a very good chance of starting our season with a bang. I'm therefore predicting a 2-0 opening day victory for the Whites.

Photo: Action Images

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