Meet the opposition | Queens Park Rangers
As Swansea City prepare to face Queens Park Rangers, we take a closer look at the R's.
What's their story?
Founded in 1886, the R's played at 20 different grounds before settling down at Loftus Road in 1917.
They joined the Football League three years later in 1920, and their highest-ever league position coming in the 1975-76 season when Dave Sexton led the club to the runners-up position in Division One as they narrowly missed out on the title by one point.
They went on to reach the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup the following season, losing out to AEK Athens on penalties.
They won their only major honour courtesy of a League Cup triumph in 1967 when they beat top-flight West Bromwich Albion whilst playing in the Third Division.
Rangers were in the Premier League at its formation in 1992, and their most recent top-flight campaign came during the 2014-15 season.
How's their form?
Inconsistent. Rangers have lost five of their last 10 games, but that sequence also included a three-match winning sequence and a pair of draws.
However, seven of their last nine Championship victories have come on home turf.
Who’s the gaffer?
Frenchman Julien Stephan joined the Rs last summer following the departure of Marti Cifuentes and has enjoyed a solid start to life in west London.
The 45-year-old comes from a footballing family, with his father Guy being a former assistant coach of the French national side and brother Guillaume also being a former player.
Stephan was a midfielder during his own playing days, featuring for Paris Saint-Germain B, Toulouse, RC Paris, Stade Briochin and Drouais.
He moved into coaching with hometown club Rennes, firstly in their youth ranks and then leading their B team to back to back titles in the lower tiers of the French pyramid.
Stephan was handed the reins of the senior side following the dismissal of Sabri Lamouchi and led them to Coupe de France success in 2019 and a first major trophy in 48 years.
He left in 2021 and joined Strasbourg, leading them to a sixth-place finish in the top-flight in his first season in charge. He returned to Rennes in 2023 and made the move to English football in the summer of 2025.
Who’s the captain?
Defender Jimmy Dunne, a Manchester United academy product, was named QPR captain ahead of the start of the 2025-26 season, taking the armband from Steve Cook.
Dunne joined Burnley’s youth set-up in 2016, and progressed to the senior team a year later and enjoyed successful loans at a series of clubs – including Hearts and Sunderland - before moving to QPR permanently in 2021.
The centre-back earned plenty of plaudits during his first season at Loftus Road and has been a key figure ever since, making over 200 appearances.
He is effective aerially in both boxes, and has 14 league goals to his name for the west London side.
Who are the key men?
Striker Richard Kone joined QPR from Wycombe over the summer and has racked up 10 goals for the club so far this term.
The 22-year-old, who was born in the Ivory Coast, joined Essex Leagues side Athletic Newham in 2019.
His prolific goalscoring form saw him attract EFL interest and he had trials with a handful of clubs before joining Wycombe in January 2024.
Kone carried his scoring exploits into the higher level and his form last season saw him named League One player of the year after scoring 23 goals in all competitions.
He has made an assured step up to Championship level this term.
Like Kone, Jamaica international Rurman Burrell has been another forward acquisition to catch the eye for QPR this season, also netting 10 goals after joining from Burton Albion.
Birmingham-born, Burrell was in the academy ranks at Coventry, Scunthorpe and Grimsby, making his senior debut for the latter.
A high-profile move to Middlesbrough followed in 2019 but he made just a solitary FA Cup appearance for the Teessiders during a spell that also saw loan spells with Bradford and Kilmarnock.
But encouraging seasons with Falkirk and Cove Rangers saw him rediscover his confidence and his goalscroing abilities, and a move to Burton came in 2024, and it took just a season with the Brewers to convince QPR to move for him.
Fulham and Chelsea youth product Harvey Vale has been one young player to catch the eye of the R's, with three goals and four assists to his name from an attacking midfield role.
The 22-year-old came through the Cottagers and Blues ranks, making a handful of senior appearances for the latter.
Loan spells with Hull City and Bristol Rovers followed, before Rangers secured his services on a full-time agreement last summer and he has grown in confidence over the course of the campaign.