Queens Park Rangers

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."

Pundits Dion Dublin and Phil Jones join host Kelly Somers to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to selected full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Derby County 1-3 Leeds United

• Portsmouth 1-4 Arsenal

• Norwich City 5-1 Walsall

• West Ham United 2-1 Queens Park Rangers

There are eight third-round ties in the FA Cup on Sunday - as Premier League and Championship teams enter the competition - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Derby v Leeds (12:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Derby & BBC Radio Leeds

• Portsmouth v Arsenal (14:00) - BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Radio Solent

• Hull v Blackburn (14:30) - BBC Radio Humberside & BBC Radio Lancashire

• Norwich v Walsall (14:30) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2, BBC Radio Norfolk & BBC Radio WM

• Sheff Utd v Mansfield (14:30) - BBC Radio Sheffield & BBC Radio Nottingham

• Swansea v West Brom (14:30)

• West Ham v QPR (14:30) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Radio London

• Man Utd v Brighton (16:30) - BBC Radio Manchester and BBC Radio Sussex

Kick-off times GMT

Follow all of the action and reaction here

And find out how to follow the FA Cup across the BBC this weekend here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Derby County v Leeds United" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Portsmouth v Arsenal", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to football on BBC Sounds

This is a must-win for West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo and, let's face it, they might sack him anyway even if he gets past QPR.

I don't think home advantage helps the Hammers, who suffered a catastrophic defeat by Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium on Tuesday. I'm not sure how many of their fans will turn up for this game, and the ones who do are not going to be in a good mood either.

But while West Ham have been very poor recently, they still have some good players and they should surely still see off a mid-table Championship team on their own patch.

QPR have been knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup more times - 52 - than any other side since the current format of the competition started 100 years ago.

I am going for them to suffer defeat number 53, and for Nuno to survive a little bit longer.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Veteran goalkeeper Ben Hamer has signed a new short-term contract with Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

The 38-year-old originally joined the Londoners in September as cover after an injury to Joe Walsh.

Hamer has gone on to play seven times for the club since his debut in early November as he and Paul Nardi have competed to be first choice.

"Ben has had a big impact on the group since his arrival in September," QPR chief executive Christian Nourry told the club website., external

"He has an infectious personality and has gelled well with the lads and the staff.

"On the pitch, he's brought his ball-playing qualities and calm presence to the fore, having been involved in some important wins for the team so far this season."

QPR have not specified the exact length of Hamer's new deal.

Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan spoke to BBC Radio London after Sunday's 3-0 win against Sheffield Wednesday.

"It's a good win. I said to the players at the end of the game that I now know exactly what it means to play four games in nine days and what it means to play over Christmas in England - and it's a crazy period for the players, to be honest, both physically and mentally," he said.

"They had a good first half and were very dominant in possession. And out of possession they didn't concede any shot in the first half.

"They moved well collectively, even if the conditions were difficult to play good football they still succeeded in doing that.

"After the first half it was less good in possession, but we didn't concede anything, and at the end they found a solution to score the second and third goals, so it was a good win."

Image source, Getty Images

Julien Stephan says QPR have no time to feel sorry for themselves after they slid to a 2-1 defeat at home to struggling Norwich.

Rangers conceded at both the start and end of the second half and Amadou Mbengue's injury-time consolation was not enough to prevent their second defeat in three days.

Stephan told BBC London: "It was a disappointing performance, especially in the second half. We had a lot of difficulty to keep the ball and create something collectively.

"When you concede a goal at the beginning of the second half, we struggled a lot and didn't find the solutions, even when we tried to change something with new players, and change the momentum.

"It's very important when you go through a moment like this to stay united and support the players even if we have to be honest and say it's not enough, the last three games.

"We have another in just three days (at home to Sheffield Wednesday) so we don't have time to stay too down and we have to find the right way to give the confidence the players need to play the next one."

Queens Park Rangers will look to get within striking distance of the top six as they host bottom three side Norwich City on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT).

The Hoops are three points short of sixth placed Watford but trail by eight goals to see it unlikely they will kick-off 2026 in a play-off place.

While at the other end of the table, it's a similar story for Norwich. They are four points away from safety but a win would have their fans feeling much more optimistic for the new year.

• Queens Park Rangers beat Norwich City 3-0 in this fixture last season, last registering home wins in back-to-back EFL campaigns against the Canaries in 2016-17/2017-18 under Ian Holloway.

• Norwich City beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1 in the reverse fixture back in November and will now be aiming to win back-to-back league meetings with QPR for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

• Queens Park Rangers won 3-1 at home to Watford on New Year's Day last year, last winning on January 1st in back-to-back years in 2007/2008 (vs Colchester and Leicester).

• Norwich City have only won one of their last eight away games played on New Year's Day (D4 L3), though it did come last year when beating Luton Town 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.

• Norwich City have lost six of their last nine league matches in London (W1 D2), with their only win in this sequence coming via a 3-2 victory at Millwall in March 2023.