West Ham vs QPR: Kante suspended for the Friday night match

West Ham United vs Queens Park Rangers opens Championship matchday nine at the London Stadium, 20:00 BST on Friday 9 October. West Ham are second, two points behind Swansea City, and have scored in every one of their eight league matches. QPR are seventh and have not lost away from home.

West Ham will be without Mohamadou Kante, sent off with a straight red card in the 2-2 draw at Millwall three weeks ago, minutes after he had started their comeback from two goals down with a shot from outside the box. A straight red carries at least a one-match suspension.

West Ham: the division’s top scorers

West Ham drew 2-2 at Burnley on the opening weekend, lost 2-1 at home to Charlton Athletic, drew 1-1 at Watford and then won four in a row: 4-2 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, 3-0 against Derby County, 3-2 at Bolton Wanderers and 6-0 against Wrexham. The run ended with the 2-2 at The Den. Twenty-two goals in eight matches, more than anyone else in the Championship.

At home they have won three of four, scored fourteen and conceded four; the only defeat came against Charlton in August. They are unbeaten in six and have never failed to score. What they have not done is keep many clean sheets: two in eight, both at the London Stadium.

QPR: unbeaten on the road, stuck in draws

QPR won 3-1 at Portsmouth on the opening day, drew 0-0 with Bolton, won 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers and beat Cardiff City 2-1. Since then they have lost 1-0 at home to Middlesbrough and drawn their last three: 0-0 at Charlton, 1-1 at West Bromwich Albion and 2-2 with Preston North End. Ten scored, seven conceded, thirteen points.

Away from home they have won two and drawn two, scored six and conceded three. It is one of the best away records in the division. The concern is the recent run: four matches without a win, and a failure to score in three of their eight.

• West Ham: 15 points from their first eight, 22 scored, 11 conceded, unbeaten in six
• West Ham at home: won 3, lost 1, 14 scored, 4 conceded
• Mohamadou Kante (West Ham) is suspended after his straight red card at Millwall
• QPR: 13 points from their first eight, 10 scored, 7 conceded
• QPR away: won 2, drawn 2, 6 scored, 3 conceded
• Kick-off: Friday 9 October, 20:00 BST, London Stadium

Last time out

West Ham drew 2-2 at Millwall on 19 September. They went two down through Caleb Taylor and Camiel Neghli, came back through Kante and Konstantinos Mavropanos in six minutes, and then lost Kante to a red card on eighty-nine. They had 66.5% of the ball and eleven corners, and finished with four yellow cards as well as the red.

QPR drew 2-2 at home to Preston North End the same afternoon, their third consecutive draw. Preston arrived twenty-third in the table with one win all season, which makes the result a missed opportunity rather than a point gained.

Where the table stands

After eight matches West Ham are second on fifteen points, level with Middlesbrough and two behind Swansea. QPR are seventh on thirteen, one place and one point outside the play-off positions, in a group of three clubs on that total. A QPR win in east London would take them above West Ham.

Two halves of a start

Split the season in two and the teams cross over. West Ham took five points from their first four matches, scoring eight and conceding seven. From their last four they took ten, scoring fourteen and conceding four. QPR went the other way: ten points from their first four, with seven scored and three conceded, and three points from the last four, with three scored.

Seven of West Ham’s eight matches have produced three goals or more. Only four of QPR’s have. That is the stylistic gap Friday night has to settle: a side whose matches are open by default against a side that has made most of its opponents play slowly.

What decides it

West Ham’s home attack against QPR’s away defence is the contest. West Ham have scored at least three in three of their four home matches; QPR have not conceded more than once in any of their away matches. Something has to give, and Kante’s absence takes away one of the players who has been making West Ham’s comebacks happen.

For QPR, a result at the London Stadium would turn a run of draws into a statement. For West Ham, a win would keep them within touching distance of Swansea going into the weekend, with the top two playing on the same matchday.

Simulate it before it happens

West Ham score at home and QPR do not lose away. On the Championship simulator you can play Friday night’s match now and take the real table forward from it.

• Play the remaining 38 rounds from the real table and the real fixture list
• Run this fixture through the AI match simulator, in tactical view or in the physics arena
• Open the line-up builder for both clubs before you kick off a simulation
• Turn an arena simulation into a vertical video ready to share

"West Ham have scored in all eight of their matches. QPR have not lost any of their four away from home."