Sunderland travel to West London this Saturday, following the end of the international break, as they look to make it three wins from the last four in the Championship. Here are five players you should keep an eye out for in the QPR squad.
LYNDON DYKES
Born in Australia, Dykes represents Scotland internationally and the 27 year old so far has 32 caps and 9 goals for his country. He began his career in Australia’s lower divisions before making the switch to the Scottish Championship and then later Scottish Premiership with Queen of the South and Livingston respectively. Since QPR signed him in 2020, the striker has proven to be invaluable to the Hoops, netting 29 and assisting 11 in 123 appearances. He has been their top scorer in two of the last three seasons, including last season. Standing at 6 '2, he is the kind of player who would have given us all sorts of problems towards the end of last campaign but with the added height now in our ranks we should hopefully be able to contain him. Lyndon is just returning from an injury, so he may not start but he is definitely someone to keep an eye out for if he comes off the bench.
ASMIR BEGOVIC
A veteran of the sport, Begovic has played in countries such as Belgium, Azerbaijan and Italy but has spent most of his career in England, featuring for the likes of Chelsea, AC Milan and AFC Bournemouth. He is probably best known for his time with Stoke City but he joined QPR on a free transfer from Everton this summer. Now at the age of 36 he is still going strong and is QPR’s number one between the sticks and has added a clean sheet to his tally (against Middlesbrough) already this season. Representing his country from 2009-2020, Begovic featured on 63 occasions for Bosnia and Herzegovina. He’s an absolute giant as well at 6 ‘6, our attack should find a way past him though.
JACK COLBACK
A player already well-known on Wearside, first for his time playing here (with 136 games played and five goals scored) and then later making the ill-advised switch to Newcastle causing his name to be one that brings much displeasure to even say to Sunderland supporters. Colback had a difficult time on Tyneside, being loaned out twice to Nottingham Forest and then moving there permanently. The defensive midfielder helped Forest to a promotion via the playoffs and departed for London this summer on a free transfer. Colback is their early leader for goals this campaign, with two in three and him being in form will be one of the key factors in whether or not they stay up this season. Expect him to start and expect a lot of booing should he come anywhere near the ball.
JIMMY DUNNE
Another former Black Cat, Dunne played for us 14 times and scored once during a loan spell from Burnley, in which he played quite well under the difficult circumstances of having Phil Parkinson in charge of the team. He has since gone out on loan to Fleetwood, had a few scattered appearances for Burnley during which he scored on his Premier League debut and then moved to QPR on a permanent basis in 2021. Dunne is a centre-back and 25 years of age. Standing at 6’ 3 he is also a player who could have given us all sorts of problems from set pieces had we not brought in new tall reinforcements in the summer transfer window and had players returning from injury. Aside from on opening day, where they were on the receiving end of a 4-0 battering away to Watford, QPR have been pretty solid defensively so breaking them down could prove to be quite a challenge. Dunne is returning from injury and could feature on Saturday, and if he does he can only improve their defence even more. Dunne has put the QPR shirt on 85 times and has chipped in with five goals so far.
ILIAS CHAIR
Capped 13 times (with one goal) by his home country of Morocco, Ilias Chair appears to be one of QPR’s best players (if not the best). The left-winger even featured in the World Cup in 2022. It’s perhaps no wonder then that the 25 year old has started all five games in the Championship for Gareth Ainsworth’s side so far will definitely be one of the players who will threaten us going forward on Saturday. Since signing for QPR in January 2017, he has donned the blue and white hoops 197 times with 28 goals. The Moroccan also seemingly likes to put a foot in in games, with Chair being booked twice already this campaign. At the age that he is, Chair will be entering into his prime and given QPR's recent struggles it's surprising he hasn't moved away, with Leicester reportedly being interested in him in the window just gone.
