Summary: QPR 2-1 Birmingham City in EFL Championship 2024

Thank you for following our coverage of this exciting match on Matchday 39 of the EFL Championship. Remember to follow VAVEL so you don't miss out on all the latest sporting news. 

Queens Park Rangers came from behind to beat Birmingham City 2-1 in an intense closing game in the capital of England. The team coached by Martí Cifuentes takes a breather. 

Andersen's shot and Ruddy covers from underneath. The momentum is with the Londoners! 

Jimmy Dunne gives the home side the lead and the crowd explodes! It all originated from a Begovic clearance. 

Time expired at Loftus Road. The assistant referee announces 6 minutes of stoppage time. 

A foul on Birmingham near the box. Miyoshi could not pass between three rival players. Good chance for the Blues. 

Kenneth Paal leaves the field to applause to make way for Lakeche in the last window of changes for the hoops. 

Crosses from QPR, but no one was able to get a shot on goal. There were two Hoops players inside. 

We enter the final stretch of the match and for the moment Birmingham City are breathing a little. Swansea have drawn against Sheffield Wed. The blues are back to 21st place.

Jamal Lowe! 🔥

— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) March 29, 2024

The Londoners play again and move to try to find space in the middle. They are comfortable. 

Danger inside the blue area. Series of rejections and Willick had to finish with a deflected shot over the top.

Cody Drameh has collided with an opponent and has blood on his lips. He is being treated off the field. 

The game has opened up and it looks like we will have more goals for the remaining minutes. 

The Blues' joy was short-lived, and Steve Cook equalized with a shot after rebounds inside the box. 

Bacuna did it! He started the play through the middle, played to Laird who opened the space and the curazaleño put the visitors ahead. 

Good collective play by the locals, the talent came together, but Chair could not finish it with a goal. 

Isaac Hyden is on the turf, already receiving medical attention, but not getting up. 

Buchanan claims an elbow of his opponent, but the referee does not signal anything. 

A shot inside the area by Sam Field. There is a deflection and it will be a corner kick. 

Birmingham's defense fell asleep and between Ferey and Andersen they were almost caught out. 

Michael Frey's header goes over the top. The Swiss striker did not connect well with the ball. 

The central referee has whistled for the restart of QPR vs Birmingham City. 

Within minutes of the resumption of the match, the players are back on the field. 

The Rangers have taken more initiative in the match, but they have not found clarity. On the other hand, Birmingham's proposal has been more to wait for the error of the locals. A first half where neither team has managed to impose conditions. 

This result does not benefit the blues, who are falling to 22nd position, as Sheffield Wed beat Swansea City for the moment. 

Equal first half at Loftus Road. Goalless draw so far between QPR and Birmingham City.

Jimmy Dune's header and Ruddy keeps the ball safely. 

Tyler Roberts shot on the edge of the area, but his shot went wide of the goal defended by Begovic. 

So far, the Blues have taken possession of the ball, but they have not been able to get beyond the midfield. 

Trouble in the QPR box. But it almost ends in a dangerous counter for Birmingham. A match where nobody gives up. 

Steve Cook's great header from Ilias Chair's dangerous cross is well saved by Steve Cook. 

Begovic has cleared a ball that his own teammate committed to the goalkeeper.

Great cross from Kenneth Paal on the left, he sent in the cross and Lucas Anderson couldn't make good contact with the ball and hit the post!

John Rudy dived on his right side to get a handball that saved the Blues. 

The home side started the attack, but Birmingham Citiy responded with a Tyler Roberts shot that went just over. 

Josh Smith has whistled the kick-off for QPR vs Birmingham City on Matchday 39 of the EFL Championship. 

Players from both teams warm up on the Loftus Road pitch.

A sunny day with a bit of cold. The fans are gradually making their presence felt at the stadium. 

Referee: Josh Smith

Assistant Referees: Matthew Jones and Sam Lewis

Fourth official: Gavin Ward

With a view to building a new stadium, Birmingham have completed a deal to buy a piece of land owned by the city council. 
The sale would be approved Thursday during a meeting with the council's property committee. 
The land is just over a mile from Birmingham city center and less than a mile from the club's current home at St Andrew's Stadium.
 

Nobody wants to miss this vital match, which is why club hoop announced that tickets for this match at Loftus Road are sold out.

Queens Park Rangers players arrived at the stadium and took pictures with the fans who were closest to them.

The weather forecast in London is windy with 14° and 62% humidity.

Back after the break 👋 pic.twitter.com/zJoCWm1pEW

— QPR FC (@QPR) March 29, 2024

The two teams have a very even record each time they meet.

2023-2024 - Birmingham 0-0 QPR

2022-2023 - QPR 0-1 Birmingham

2022-2023 Birmingham 2-0 QPR

2021-2022 - Birmingham 1-2 QPR

2021-2022 - QPR 2-0 Birmingham

This is the first lineup presented by Gary Rowett. Sanderson, Bielik, T. Roberts are the changes in the XI. Jordan James, Miyoshi, Sunjic go to the bench. 

These are the eleven players that the Spaniard Martí Cifuentes sends to Loftus Road. Today Colback and Dikes are substitutes, the rest is the same as in the last game against Sunderland. 

Gary Rowett has taken over as interim manager of Birmingham City for the remaining eight games of the season. Rowett returns to the Blues after several years of last managing them, now the reality is different and he will have to prevent them from dropping to the third division after 13 seasons in the Championship. 

QPR have won one of their last seven league games played on Good Friday (2 have been draws and 4 defeats), winning 3-0 in April 2021 against Coventry.
Four of Birmingham's last five away league games played on Good Friday ended in draws (1 win), the other being a 4-0 victory at Crystal Palace in 2013.
Rangers have conceded 24 goals in their 24 league games under Marti Cifuentes and never more than twice in a game. In their 24 games before his arrival, the Hoops scored 45 goals.

Stay tuned to your digital device for real-time coverage of QPR vs Birmingham City from Loftus Road on Matchday 39 of the EFL Championship. An important match for the permanence in the second tier of English soccer. 

In a few moments we will share with you the starting lineups for Queens Park Rangers vs Birmingham live on Matchday 39 of the EFL Championship, as well as the latest information.

USA Date: Friday, March 29

USA Time: 11:00 PM ET

USA TV channel (English):

USA TV channel (Spanish):

USA Internet Live Updates Commentary: VAVEL

This is the kickoff time for the Queens Park Rangers vs Birmingham EFL Championship match, Saturday, March 29 in several countries:
Argentina: 12:00 PM
Bolivia: 11:00 AM
Brazil: 12:00 PM
Chile: 10:00 AM
Colombia: 10:00 AM
Ecuador: 10:00 AM
USA (ET): 11:00 AM
Spain: 4:00 PM
Mexico: 9:00 AM
Paraguay: 12:00 PM
Peru: 10:00 AM
Uruguay: 12:00 PM
Venezuela: 11:00 AM
 

John Eustace, Wayne Rooney, Steve Spooner, Mowbray and Mark Venus have all sat in the Birmingham dugout, now it is the turn of Gary Rowett, who returns to manage the club after seven years with the task of keeping the club from relegation. 

The tactician mentions that he has to be pragmatic and prioritize results. 

"We have to make an instant impact as the games will be intense and fast.

"It's not for me to reason about why the team is in the situation it's in. It's about what we do now

"The first priority was for Tony to be well and have everything he needs to get better.

"But the message has been there from day one. We have to do what we have to do and we have to give the players the confidence and belief to do it," he pointed out. 

The Blues will be without Alfie Chang, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Marc Roberts. Other recent absentees will be evaluated to determine their availability for the tournament in the capital city.

Birmingham 0-1 Watford (March 16)

Birmingham 0-1 Middlesbrough (March 12)

Millwall 1-0 Birmingham (9 March)

Hull City 1-1 Birmingham (5 March)

Birmingham 3-4 Southampton (2 March)

Sunderland 0-0 QPR (March 16)

QPR 0-2 Middlesbrough (March 9)

QPR 2-2 West Brom (6 March)

Leicester City 1-2 QPR (2 March)

QPR 2-1 Rotherham (24 February)

The Blues are fighting against their lives to stay in the second tier of English soccer. Even with changes of coach, they have not been able to find the compass that will take them out of the last places. They are currently in 21st place, equal on points with Huddersfield Town, but better on goal difference; they are on the border with 22nd and 23rd. 

Gary Rowett returned to Birmingham as interim manager after Tony Mowbray was granted extended medical leave. 

Mowbray re-signed Wayne Rooney at St Andrews in January, but temporarily resigned a month later to undergo medical treatment. Mark Venus, who was his assistant and was managing the team in his absence, will also temporarily leave the club. 

Since Tony Mowbray stepped down from the bench due to requiring medical treatment, the Blues have accumulated just one point from six games.
 

The R's are in 20th place with 40 points, one point away from the relegation places. Queens has shown improvement on offense, which has allowed them to move out of the relegation zone; however, they are still vulnerable on defense and making mistakes.
After spending most of the season in the relegation positions, the situation changed in February and early March, when they achieved victories against Bristol City, Rotherham and Leicester. However, in the last few matches the results have not gone as expected and they dropped points after having won in previous matches. 
An encouraging fact for Martí Cifuentes' team is that QPR has lost only one of its last six games at Loftus Road.

Welcome to VAVEL.com's live coverage of the Queens Park Rangers vs Birmingham matchday 39 of the EFL Championship. The match will take place at Matrade Loftus Road at 9:00 hrs Central Mexican time. 
My name is Angel Ortega and I will be your host for this match. We will bring you pre-match analysis, data, score updates and live news here on VAVEL.