West Bromwich Albion will be without seven first-team players for their clash against fellow promotion chasers Queens Park Rangers

The R's sit a point and a place behind Albion and will be aiming to leapfrog them with victory on Saturday.

  • Team news

Semi Ajayi will be missing from Valerien Ismael's side, as the defender is currently away with Nigeria at AFCON.

Dara O'Shea, Kean Bryan and Robert Snodgrass won't be available through injury.

Meanwhile, suspension issues remain rife at the Baggies, with Sam Johnstone, Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre all unavailable thanks to red cards.

Mark Warburton will be without Ilias Chair, Osman Kakay and Seny Dieng who are all at AFCON with their respective nations.

Jordy De Wijs is likely to be an absentee after picking up a calf strain back in October, with the defender unlikely to be back before the end of the month.

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  • Predicted lineups

QPR:

(3-4-1-2) Marshall, Dunne, Dickie, Barbet, Adomah, Field, Johansen, Wallace, Willock, Dykes, Gray

West Brom:
(3-4-3) Button, Clarke, Bartley, Livermore, Townsend, Gardner-Hickman, Molumby, Furlong, Grant, Phillips, Robinson

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  • Form guide

After winning their last two league games 2-1, the R's will be looking to extend that good run of form with victory against Albion.

Warburton's side advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup after defeating Rotherham United on penalties.

The Hoops will know the importance of victory this Saturday and will aim to take advantage of West Brom’s defensive absences.

Valerien Ismael will have to shuffle his pack amid absentee issues, and without a win in three league fixtures, they'll need to be at their best to win here.

Albion have only won one of their last five away fixtures, only scoring twice during that period.

A lack of goals have caused the Baggies issues throughout the season, and supporters will be hoping the arrival of American striker Daryl Dike will change their fortunes.

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  • Ones to watch

Daryl Dike

Having signed from Orlando City on the opening day of the January transfer window, Dike has been put on an intensive fitness programme to get him up to speed.

Ismael claims the American will start the game on the bench but is fit enough to make his Albion debut this weekend.

If he comes on as a substitute, there's a chance the striker could provide the goalscoring touch to change the game.

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Chris Willock

Previously on-loan at West Brom from Benfica, he didn’t make a senior appearance during their 2019/20 promotion campaign.

Currently QPR's joint top-scorer, bagging six goals so far this campaign he's also top of their assist ranks too.

He'll be aiming to spark further revenge on the Baggies after scoring to almost deny them promotion when playing for Huddersfield Town.

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  • How to watch

Audio coverage will be available for those in the UK and Ireland via WBATV and iFollow. There'll also be a stream available for overseas viewers. Kick-off on Saturday is set for 15:00 GMT.

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