Talking Tactics | Swansea City v Queens Park Rangers
Swansea City host Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday as they look to extend their unbeaten run to three games.
Here, WhoScored.com preview the game in south Wales, taking a look at what to expect from QPR, the key battle and a key stat.
What to expect from QPR
Since succeeding Gareth Ainsworth as QPR boss, Marti Cifuentes has favoured a 4-2-3-1 approach and - having used the system to good effect in the 2-1 win over Birmingham on Good Friday to end a three-game winless run - he's unlikely to move away from the formation on Easter Monday.
The decision to implement such a system helps stretch opponents, with QPR preferring to attack down the flanks rather than through the middle. Indeed, just 20% of their attacks come through the middle of the pitch, that the lowest such figure in the Championship this season.
As such, the west London side have developed a statistically calculated WhoScored.com style of play of 'play with width'.
There's a big reliance, then, on winger Chris Willock to help trouble defences for the R’s. The 26-year-old often shines down the flank for Cifuentes' side, with Willock ranking joint-top for dribbles per 90 (2) of all QPR players this season, reinforcing a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of 'dribbling'.
The same can be said of Ilias Chair, who operates on the opposite flank, and, like Willock, is avergaing two successful dribbles per 90 for Rangers.
However, what stands out about Chair is the quality of end product he provides to aid his side in the final third. The Moroccan ranks top for key passes per 90 (1.9) for QPR, while his six assists is also more than any other teammate this term.
As such, Chair has returned a WhoScored.com rating of 6.98, that better than any other player for the visitors, who'll undoubtedly look to the wide pair to help pry Swansea open.
When QPR win the ball back, expect them to look to spread the play to Chair or Willock, and the availability of two tricky forwards means they have two testing outlets to put defences on the backfoot.
Key battle
Josh Tymon is expected to be the man tasked with keeping Willock quiet on Easter Monday.
The 24-year-old has proven a fine addition at the Swansea.com Stadium, and has returned a solid tackle success rate of 77.1% during his time in south Wales. It's not just Tymon's defensive work, though, that'll be key.
Tymon is a handy attacking outlet for Swansea boss Luke Williams down the left, highlighted by the fact the left-back has registered five assists for the Swans - no player has more in Championship action - while 1.5 key passes per 90 is the third most for Williams' side.
In addition, he's made more key passes from set-pieces (22) than any other player for Swansea this season.
This could prove crucial with no team having conceded more goals from set-pieces than QPR (15) in England's second tier this term.
The WhoScored.com match forecast suggests that it is Very Likely Swansea will 'score from a set-piece situation'.
Yes, Tymon will need to be on top of his game to keep Willock in check, but he offers another route to goal that Swansea will seek to exploit on home turf.
Key stat
Cifuentes deserves immense credit for the job he has done following his appointment in October but there is still work to be done at QPR.
Indeed, since he succeeded Ainsworth, only Sheffield Wednesday (7) have scored fewer away goals than the R’s (9) and Swansea will hope this profligacy on their travels continues on Monday.