Charlie Kelman saw his name on the starting XI team sheet for the first time since August 5 against Watford. Elsewhere, Duane Holmes was substituted after 60 minutes as Preston North End fell to Hull City.
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Leicester City
After some cameo appearances off the bench, Kelman was given an opportunity. However, that chance just happened to be against the best team in the league, who have won all of their games except one. Reggie Cannon also started for QPR. It was a busy defensive performance from the London team, showcasing a solid team effort after going one man down. They faced immense pressure from Leicester as they narrowly avoided a hiccup.
When the Foxes were last in the second tier back in 2014, they secured promotion alongside QPR. However, in this campaign, their fortunes have taken different trajectories, seemingly heading in opposite directions.
Leicester did manage to take the lead through Mavididi, who skillfully cut inside and found the net with a deflected effort at the half-hour mark.
The home side responded swiftly when Dozzell capitalized on Lyndon Dykes’ header, which was cleared off the line in the 40th minute.
As the second half unfolded, Leicester piled on the pressure, and QPR’s task was made a whole lot harder when Dozzell, who had previously scored for QPR, committed a foul against Fatawu. This led to an altercation, resulting in Dozzell receiving two yellow cards and subsequently, a red, while Fatawu received a booking for his involvement.
The decisive moment came from Winks, who expertly curled the ball into the top right corner from one side of the box. It was a phenomenal strike that settled the match in the final 10 minutes.
This strike maintained Leicester’s five-point lead over second-placed Ipswich Town. However, for QPR, they have only managed to secure one point from six home games, and they find themselves six points adrift of safety, suggesting they might face a challenging season ahead.
It is a match to forget for Charlie Kelman. Despite being an attacker, the 21-year-old only made four passes and had 12 touches in the 64 minutes he played, according to FotMob. If anything, Kelman did more defensive work than posed a threat to Leicester. It tells you all you need to know about how dangerous the league leaders are. The West London club was being extremely cautious, which nearly paid off. It wasn’t for a moment of brilliance from Winks.
Just like Kelman, it wasn’t a great performance from Cannon as he waits for his first QPR win. Apart from his extended defensive shift, the right center back of the back three played two successful long balls. He did trouble the Leicester defense, as they were on the front foot for most of the match and can be prone to a surprise attack if caught off guard, which Reggie Cannon attempted.
Hull City 1-0 Preston North End
The Preston downhill spiral continues as they suffer another loss and remain winless after seven attempts, slipping out of the playoff spots after their opponent leapfrogged them into one of the spots. Duane Holmes played in his usual position as the right winger and performed well compared to his recent outings. However, he was substituted in the 60th minute when the game was still 0-0. Unfortunately, this move backfired and Hull City ended up winning the match.
All in all, it was a relatively quiet match as both teams were testing their chances. This was one of the biggest tests for both Hull and Preston, as they are both fighting for playoff spots.
Despite being the main creative outlet of the team, Holmes was taken out of the game at the hour mark with the game still scoreless. He didn’t look injured, but he did receive a yellow card. It seemed that PNE was content with just securing a point against a tough opponent.
The game remained lackluster until midway through the second half when Hull finally made a breakthrough thanks to Jaden Philogene. He sprinted into the box, and with Preston failing to close him down, he unleashed a left-footed shot off the post.
This outcome extends Preston’s winless streak to seven games, causing them to fall to eighth place. Meanwhile, Hull’s second consecutive victory propels them into sixth position.
Holmes created a big chance, completed two successful dribbles, and even did his fair share of defensive work with four recoveries, according to FotMob. The app also rated him as the highest-rated PNE player, as a 7.0, on the night despite only playing for an hour.
Coventry City 0-2 West Bromwich Albion
It’s gone from bad to worse for Haji Wright and Coventry as they fell to a third defeat on the bounce. The Sky Blues are just two places above the relegation zone.
Grady Diangana gave the Baggies the lead in the 17th minute, sliding the ball home from close range after Coventry keeper Ben Wilson parried it to him.
Matt Phillips then skillfully assisted Brandon Thomas-Asante for an impressive second goal in the 69th minute, as West Brom executed a counterattack to seal the victory.
Despite an excellent opportunity, Coventry’s record fee signing Haji Wright failed to equalize while through on goal. However, the Sky Blues had little left in the tank as they succumbed to a third consecutive league defeat.
It was a nightmarish 77 minutes for Wright as he missed two big opportunities, registering an xG (expected goal) of 0.92 according to statistical app, Sofascore. This indicates that he had numerous chances to score but left empty-handed. To put it into context, the xG for a penalty kick is 0.79, meaning there’s a 79 percent chance of that ball going into the net. Remarkably, the record signing managed to surpass this value just from open play. So far, it’s been a rather underwhelming season for the 25-year-old, and we’re hoping that things will turn around for him from here on.
Notes:
Vaughn Covil was away on international duty with the USYNT, so he missed out on Hull City’s 1-0 win over Preston North End
Lynden Gooch started on the bench in Stoke City’s 2-0 away win against Middlesbrough, playing 18 minutes.
Josh Sargent recently signed a long-term contract with Norwich City until 2028. The man who scored three, and assisted one after the first four matches of the Championship season is still recovering from injury.
Daryl Dike is still recovering from his long-term injury sustained back in April.
Jonathan Tomkinson once again wasn’t featured in Bradford City’s squad that lost to Sutton Town on Saturday. Since joining the League Two side on loan from Norwich City in August, the 21-year-old has only played a total of five minutes.
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