Queens Park Rangers boss Neil Critchley is very aware of the threat that his side face this afternoon at Loftus Road. A team he describes as unique and outstanding in the way they play, yes that’s Swansea City. The ex Aston Villa assistant manager to Steven Gerrard is looking forward to todays game.
On the swans he said. "Their performance against Watford shows you what they are capable of. They are an outstanding football team in the way that they play the game and they provide you with a unique challenge in this division. They have some top-quality players and I am sure Russell (Martin), like myself, would like to be more consistent to be competing at the top end of this division. We know what we are going to be facing, it will be a really tough game and they provide problems but it is up to us to play our game and provide problems for Swansea as well. I am looking forward to it. We are at home, we need to improve our home form and it would be nice to give our supporters three points.”
The R’s have played six league games since returning from the World Cup break. They may have only won one of them but have gained credible draws against Cardiff, Sheffield United and Reading last time out. That game saw Critchley’s men come back from 2-0 down to earn a point. The performances by QPR and the swans are similar, it can be exhilarating at times but also frustrating, to that end two ex Swansea players will line up against their old club today.
Jamal Lowe who is twenty eight is on loan at Loftus Road from Bournemouth. Critchley seems happy with his addition. "He has come here to play. That is why he came from Bournemouth where he hadn’t had many match minutes this season. He wants to play and make an impact here on the group. He did that last week when he came off the bench for half an hour, he has settled in really quickly, he is a really good guy and you can see his quality in training. I understand everyone is excited to see him on the pitch, me included, because he has experience in this division and is a quality player, but we also want him fit and available for the last nineteen games. We have to manage him in this period until he is capable of playing ninety minutes every week because I think he could be a really good addition and make a big impact for us in the second half of the season.”
Ethan Laird, now twenty one, who was on loan at Swansea City from Manchester United last season is also at Loftus Road and on on loan - he has maintained his place in the R’s side with consistent performances. From his time out on loan at the swans, Bournemouth and now QPR it is evident he won’t be setting the world alight at Old Trafford any time soon, and may well have found his level in the championship.
Star man Lyndon Dykes (above) is also a threat with twenty six goals in a hundred games, the Australian who qualifies to play for Scotland has eight goals in twenty six games for his country. QPR rejected a bid of up to three million pounds for the player this week from Millwall. As per Morgan Whittaker at Swansea it very much depends on the veracity of that offer and any overnight talks between the clubs as to Dykes appearance today in this game.
Leon Balogun Is out and Stefan Johansen (ankle) was in contention to feature v Reading last time out, but didn’t, and so he could potentially make his return today. (FL 72)
The game kicks off at 3pm today at Loftus Road and the swans will have two and a half thousand voices in the away end cheering them on.