Infoinsport.com – The last match of the first round in the EFL Cup will occur on Wednesday evening when Queens Park Rangers welcome Norwich City at Loftus Road.
The winner of the all-Championship encounter will later travel to Bristol City in the second round this month.
While the rest of the EFL were dealing with three fixtures during the opening week or so of the season, QPR and Norwich were taking it easy, recuperating from their first matches in the second tier.
From QPR’s perspective, they may have preferred to return to action as soon as possible following their 4-0 defeat by Watford.
Gareth Ainsworth’s team suffered a tame defeat at Vicarage Road, and their ex-midfielder would have understood that the pressure might increase swiftly while he strives to win the support of the club’s fans.
Nonetheless, his Hoops team successfully performed for him during Saturday’s match, as the West Londoners managed to maintain their lead and secure a 2-1 victory against Cardiff City.
The decisive goals scored by Sinclair Armstrong and Kenneth Paal, one before half time and the other after, lifted the mood as their first home game of the season approached.
Meanwhile, David Wagner is experiencing a distinct level of anticipation at Carrow Road as Norwich has had a remarkably disheartening initial year upon their return to the Championship.
However, the German can still be pleased with the start of his team, despite conceding a 96th-minute equalizer and drawing 4-4 against Southampton.
Despite Norwich leading on three different occasions at St Mary’s, they also found themselves trailing after 21 minutes. Considering they managed to secure a draw against a title rival, this outcome can be seen as a positive during this stage of the campaign.
Despite appearing intimidating in the attacking zone, Norwich has now allowed five goals in two games, similar to their opponents on Wednesday. This match seems unlikely to finish without any goals.
QPR vs Norwich Prediction
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Archer; Kakay, Gubbins, Fox, Larkeche; Richards, Field; Smyth, Dykes, Adomah; Armstrong
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Krul; Fisher, Omobamidele, Gibson, McCallum; Gibbs, Nunez, Hernandez; Springett, Idah, Fassnacht
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Norwich City
Both teams are likely to make changes for this contest, which makes it challenging to confidently predict the outcome. However, the Canaries have shown more improvement this season and may have a slight advantage in this match, even though their opponents are in good spirits after the weekend.
