Queens Park Rangers will be hosting Luton Town at Loftus Road for Matchday 18 of the 2021-22 EFL Championship season. QPR are currently sixth in the EFL Championship standings with 26 points from their 17 games. They are only two points behind fifth-placed Stoke City and six behind third-placed West Brom. QPR have proven to be a great attacking side and have been regularly getting the goals in matches. They have scored the third-most goals in the league and are only behind leaders Bournemouth and second-placed Fulham.
The visitors, Luton Town, on the other hand, are 11th in the standings, with 24 points to their name from their 17 games. They are just two points behind QPR in the sixth, showing how tight the race is for the top six spots. There is in fact, only a four points difference between the sixth-placed and sixteenth placed team in the Championship, with Reading in 16th with just 22 points.
The above viz shows the xG value for various teams in the EFL Championship. It is visible that Fulham have the highest xG, while Hull City have the lowest. QPR have the tenth-highest xG in the division of 20.21, which they have highly overachieved by scoring 28 goals so far in the competition. Lyndon Dykes and Ilias Chair both have scored six times for them in the league.
Luton Town, on the other hand, have an xG of 23.92, which they have also overachieved by scoring 26 goals in their 17 games. Elijah Adebayo is their top scorer with eight goals, followed by Harry Cornick, who has scored seven. It will be an interesting contest against QPR, as everyone will be waiting to see whose attack comes out on top.
The above viz shows the xGA value for all the EFL Championship teams this season. A lower value of xGA means fewer chances of conceding goals and a better defense. Luton Town have the ninth-lowest xGA with an xGA of 17.36 so far. They have conceded 22 goals and will hope to improve on the defensive side of their game. On the other hand, QPR have an xGA of over 20, the ninth-highest in the division. They have conceded 24 goals in their 17 games.
In terms of stats, both teams have been similar when it comes to xG and xGA. Both teams want a spot in the top-six and want to qualify for the playoffs. Luton are 11th and QPR are sixth, but a win for Luton can take them above their rivals in the EFL Championship standings.
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Dickie, Dunne, Barbet; Adomah, Dozzell, Johnsen, Odubajo; Chair, Willock; Austin
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Sluga; Burke, Bradley, Naismith; Bree, Osho, Mpanzu, Bell; Cornick, Adebayo, Onyedinma
