Queens Park Rangers

Image source, EFL

A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."

QPR have made a £1m offer to Dundee for centre-back Luke Graham, but Portsmouth are expected to make another bid after having a £400,000 offer rejected, while Sheffield United, Aberdeen and Hearts are also interested in the 21-year-old. (LondonWorld), external

Read all the latest EFL transfer rumours in Friday's gossip column here.

This will be Wrexham's first trip to Loftus Road in 22 years and they will be looking to avoid falling to a second successive league double, albeit the last one was in 2004.

QPR's past two league games have finished goalless against Stoke and Oxford United respectively.

• QPR have won each of their past four league games against Wrexham in succession, as many as across their prior 12 matches combined between 1960 and 2001 (D4 L4).

• Wrexham have won just two of their nine away league games against QPR in club history, winning 2-1 in September 1962 and 1-0 in October 1980.

• QPR have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three league games, drawing the last two 0-0. They last went four without conceding in December 2024.

• Wrexham have won each of their past two away league games and will be looking to win three in succession in the second tier of English football for the very first time.

• Wrexham's Sam Smith has scored nine goals in his past 16 league starts, netting in each of his past three in a row.

QPR and Swansea are among the clubs interested in signing Ghanaian striker Jalal Abdullai, 21, who has returned to Swedish club Elfsborg after scoring nine goals in 24 games while on loan at Norwegian side Molde FK. (TEAMtalk), external

Want to read more EFL transfer news and rumours? Check out Thursday's gossip column in full here.

Image source, Shutterstock

All English Football League games across a four-day period in February will begin one minute late to raise awareness for the Every Minute Matters campaign.

The initiative will be in place for 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two between 5 and 9 February.

EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have been working together since May 2024 to highlight the importance of speed when it comes to performing live-saving CPR.

Later kick-off times will serve as "a stark reminder that every minute matters", the EFL said.

Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer collapsed while playing for Luton Town eight minutes into the Championship play-off final against Coventry in May 2023.

Lockyer then suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch seven months later during a Premier League game at Bournemouth.

"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador.

"Every year, more than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and most of them never make it home.

"I'm here today because of the transformative power of CPR as every minute matters when it comes to saving a life.

"This February, we want everyone to get behind this life-saving initiative, learn the skills and be ready to step in because your actions could give someone else the chance I was given."

Throughout February, the Every Minute Matters campaign will call on fans to learn CPR using the BHF's online RevivR, external tool.

"Each minute without CPR reduces a person's chance of survival, so we're urging fans to learn the skills now, before you ever need them," said Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF.

EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: "The one minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death."

Image source, Getty Images

QPR head coach Julien Stephan felt his side battled hard in the wind and rain at the Kassam Stadium during their 0-0 draw at Oxford.

"[The conditions] were really difficult for the players," he told BBC Radio London.

"For me, it's the worst thing to play with wind. That's why I want to highlight the mentality of the players. They never gave up and wanted to have another clean sheet, the third one in four games.

"It's part of consistency. It's a good sign of improvement for these players because we struggled in the first part of the season, away, especially in November and December.

"The only disappointment is not creating more danger in the penalty area. We prepared the situation well, we had good ideas to create the momentum, but we need just a little bit more quality in the last pass and the last move in the penalty area."

He added that 19-year-old Esquerdinha, who was stretchered off in the second half, will have a scan, but added: "It was not too bad for him".

Image source, BBC Sport

Aberdeen are in talks to sign QPR centre-back Liam Morrison on loan. Morrison joined QPR from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024. (Sky Sports), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Check out Tuesday's gossip column here.

Image source, Opta

Relegation-battling Oxford United will seek a first win under new boss Matt Bloomfield when they welcome Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday night (19:45 GMT kick-off).

The U's are five points adrift of safety and have won just one of their past eight games (D2 L5).

Meanwhile, the Hoops are 11th but still in touching distance of the play-off spots, four points behind the top-six.

• Oxford United are winless in four league meetings with Queens Park Rangers (D1 L3), but have never gone five without a win against the Rs.

• QPR won this exact fixture last season 3-1, but have never won back-to-back away league games at Oxford United before.

• Oxford United are without a win in their past 10 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games (D4 L6) since defeating Luton 3-2 in January 2025.

• QPR have won each of their previous three away league games played in midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), last winning four in a row in August 1971.

• Oxford United have only won one of their past eight league matches against London clubs (D3 L4), beating Millwall 1-0 away from home in January 2025.

Coventry City are diverting striker Justin Obikwu to Queens Park Rangers in an initial deal worth £500,000 after recalling the 21-year-old from a loan spell with League One side Lincoln City. (Coventry Telegraph), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

Julien Stephan felt his Queens Park Rangers side were good value for their share of the spoils as they held fellow play-off hopefuls Stoke City to a 0-0 draw at the Bet365 Stadium.

In what was a low-key meeting, with few clear-cut chances to speak of, QPR produced a resolute rearguard throughout to keep Stoke at bay and might even have snatched a late winner when substitute Kealey Adamson fired over the bar in the closing stages.

The Rs have now won only one of their last six matches in all competitions, but Stephan applauded his team's efforts here to frustrate their hosts and leave with a clean sheet and a point.

He told BBC Radio London: "I'm pleased with a point, I'm pleased with the mindset of the players. I'm pleased with the defensive organisation and the resilience of the players.

"Of course, I'm not pleased with how we used the ball today, because we know the players are able to play with more quality.

"Sometimes you have to accept, especially during the winter, when you repeat a lot of games – and we played a strong game six days ago against West Ham – that it's not easy for the players to recover.

"Sometimes you have to choose and, today, we wanted to keep a strong defensive organisation.

"We wanted to stay alive for as long as possible in the game so that, later, we could have the opportunities towards the end.

"I think the players deserved this point because they gave a lot of effort and they stayed very collective until the last second with a strong mind-set.

"This is a sign of improvement – I'm not sure we'd have had this result two months ago."

Image source, Opta

Stoke City will go in search of a fourth straight win as they welcome QPR to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Potters climbed back up to eighth in the Championship, within a point of the play-offs, after wins, and clean sheets, at Hull and Norwich, before a 1-0 success against Coventry in the FA Cup third round last Saturday.

The R's are three places and two points further back but have taken a single point from their past four away games and went down 2-1 at West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday.

• Stoke City have won their past two home league games against QPR, beating them 1-0 in 2023/24 and 3-1 in 2024/25.

• QPR are looking to record their first league double over Stoke City since beating them twice in the 2019/20 campaign.

• Stoke have won their first two league games in 2026, beating Hull and Norwich. The Potters last started a calendar year with three wins back in 2004.

• QPR striker Richard Kone scored three goals in his first four Championship appearances, scoring with all three shots on target. Since then, he has just two goals in 20 matches, enjoying an overall shot conversion ratio of just 5.3% in those 20 games.

• No player has been involved in more Championship goals this season than Stoke's Sorba Thomas (9 goals, 6 assists), although he only has one assist (and no goals) in seven appearances against QPR.

Image source, PA Media

Queens Park Rangers plan to elevate their academy status to Category 1 and join the list of the most elite academies in English football.

The Rs would be alongside west London rivals Chelsea and Fulham in the top tier of talent development centres for young players.

Academy graduates Rayan Kolli and Kieran Morgan have established themselves in the first team in recent seasons, while former England and Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling also spent much of his youth career at the club.

If successful with their application, the Hoops would be eligible to compete in Premier League 2 and enter their U21 side in the Vertu Trophy.

"This is an important next step for us as we look to develop and enhance every area of the football club," CEO Christian Nourry told the club's website., external

"The next 18 months will be a major undertaking for our academy director Alex Carroll and his staff, as they seek to meet the increasingly elevated standards that are required by the relevant institutions in order for us to successfully upgrade from our current Category 2 status.

"If successful, this will be another landmark milestone in the bright future that I believe we are all building for this football club."

QPR have turned down St Etienne's offer for midfielder Jonathan Varane. (West London Sport), external

The French second-tier club also tried to sign Varane in the summer.

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.

Morecambe winger Emmerson Sutton will remain with the National League club until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old has made 16 appearances for the Shrimps since joining on loan from Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

His most recent appearance for Morecambe came in their 1-0 defeat by Carlisle United in December.

Image source, Getty Images

Richard Kone says the narrow FA Cup defeat to West Ham has shown QPR what they need to do if they are to step-up to the Premier League.

The Ivorian's second-half header cancelled out a 1-0 half-time deficit and sent the third round tie to extra-time before the Hammers came out 2-1 winners to claim their place in Monday's fourth-round draw.

QPR are three points outside the Championship play-off places with 20 games remaining and Kone hopes they can finish the season strongly to get back to playing on the biggest stage every week next season.

He told BBC Radio London: "We had a spell where we could have taken our chances, when you don't, the quality of the opposition shows.

"They showed they are a Premier League side, even if they are struggling. We have to take our chances when they come. We should be proud of ourselves for the game we gave them, it was hard for them.

"You can tell what you need to do to be at that level. You have to keep working, learn from these type of games, learn what you need to do to be at that level to compete in the Premier League.

"You have to be more effective in everything you do."

The Hoops return to league action with a trip to play-off rivals Stoke on Saturday (15:00 GMT) and Kone added: "We have to switch straight away and get fired up, train hard. Stoke away is not going to be easy. We have to show what we learned (at West Ham), be more clinical and effective."

The R's were roared on by 9,000 travelling fans at the London Stadium and boss Julien Stephan added: "I want to congratulate the players and they want to congratulate the fans – the support across the game was amazing for us. They made a lot of noise.

"The players felt that and it was a good contribution for us in terms of energy."