The writing was on the wall for Gareth Ainsworth at QPR, with his side falling to their sixth-straight defeat at the hands of Leicester City, which left them winless in their last nine matches in all competitions, which made for hugely frustrating reading for the former QPR boss and the club’s supporters.
Ainsworth departed the club shortly after that defeat to the league-leaders, and left the Hoops in the relegation zone, and six points adrift of safety after 14 matches in this year’s league campaign. It’s difficult to pinpoint where the main problem was for Ainsworth during his tenure in charge of the London-based side, although their lack of possession and attacking threat will have been a concern for fans that had to endure some lacklustre displays on a weekly basis.
It’s been revealed to us by experts at BonusCodeBets that QPR are priced at ½ on Sky Bet to be relegated from the Championship this season. They’ve also got some great betting offers on display for new customers. Below, you’ll find the betting odds for the rest of the relegation candidates this season.
- Rotherham United @ 2/9
- Sheffield Wednesday @ 4/7
- Plymouth Argyle @ 9/4
- Huddersfield Town @ 3/1
- Birmingham City @ 10/1
- Swansea City @ 10/1
Odds displayed are correct as of 3:19 pm, Wednesday 1st November 2023. Odds are subject to change.
QPR wasted no time in appointing Ainsworth’s successor, with Marti Cifuentes signing along the dotted line, with the club reportedly accelerating their plans to appoint him as their new manager due to their alarming run of results under Ainsworth. Cifuentes has most recently managed Swedish side Hammarby IF, where he spent a year, before making the move to London with QPR.
Cifuentes’ first game in charge of his new club is set to be against fellow strugglers Rotherham United, where he’ll be looking to make the ideal start to life with QPR with a positive result against the Millers, who are sat just one place above them in the second-tier standings. It’ll be interesting to see whether any players that had previously found game time hard to come by under Ainsworth’s management are drafted back into the starting XI anytime soon.
One of those that fits into that category is Chris Willock. The former Arsenal youngster first signed for QPR back in 2020, and made 38 appearances in his first season with the club, which included chipping in with three goals and five assists in the Championship. Willock went from strength to strength in the following season, as he scored seven goals and was on hand to provide 11 assists for his QPR team-mates. However, Willock only made 20 league starts in the 2022/23 season, which coincidentally saw QPR narrowly avoid relegation into League One. It’s been a similar story this season under Ainsworth’s watchful eye, with the 25-year-old making just three league starts for the club, much to the irritation of their fanbase, who are well-aware of the threat that Willock can bring to their team.
He’s contracted with QPR until the end of the 2023/24 season, and will be looking to prove a point to new manager Marti Cifuentes, as he looks to potentially revive his career with the Hoops. Willock’s potential reintroduction could ease the weight on Ilias Chair’s shoulders, with QPR’s talisman being heavily relied on to provide any sort of attacking threat in the last couple of seasons in particular.
