Queens Park Rangers

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QPR boss Julien Stephan told BBC Radio London: "It was a tight game between well-organised teams. It was difficult for both sides to find the space.

"When we had opportunities, there were technical issues in the last third with finding the last pass or a good finish.

"It is a clean sheet. The last one was Charlton over two months ago.

"It is a good run for us, five games unbeaten. We knew Bristol City were a good opponent in good form. We didn't find a way today but we continue the process."

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Queens Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan has heaped praise on Bristol City boss Roy Hodgson prior to their game at Loftus Road on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Hodgson returned to the Robins 44 years after his original spell to help the side regroup at the end of the season following the sacking of Gerhard Struber.

"I know his name, his background, I know everything that he did during his career," Stephen told BBC Radio London.

"He's a big, big person and a big coach and a big manager. A lot of respect, it will be an honour to see him on the bench, but be sure that the only objective for me and for the club is to beat Bristol City."

Though Stephan's admiration is not only for Hodgson's past achievements - it is also for his longevity in the game.

"I think I will have the same patience, but I don't think I will have the strength to be on the bench until 78 years old," Stephen added.

"That why I have only one word - it's respect. Respect for the person, respect as well for the desire and the willingness to continue, to fight and to compete on the bench.

"He's achieved a lot of things during his career and it's fantastic to see that."

Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds

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The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

Only goal difference separates these two sides in 12th and 11th place respectively in the Championship table.

They are both nine points short of the play-off places before Saturday's game kicks off (12:30 BST).

• QPR are unbeaten in five league games against Bristol City (W2 D3), and are looking to complete the league double over the Robins for the first time since 2002-03.

• Bristol City are unbeaten in their past eight away league games against QPR (W5 D3), with their past two visits finishing level.

• Queens Park Rangers have picked up 10 points in their past four Championship matches, more than in their previous 11 games combined (W2 D3 L6).

• Since Roy Hodgson arrived at Bristol City, the Robins are the only side to win both of their matches in the Championship. A victory in this game would see him equal his total from his 20 league games in charge of them during the 1981-82 season (W3 D5 L12).

• No side has benefitted from more own goals in the Championship this season than QPR (6, level with Ipswich), drawing 1-1 with Preston last time out thanks to a Thierry Small own goal.

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QPR boss Julien Stephan said the manner and style of his side's 2-1 victory over Watford was more pleasing than the 6-1 thrashing of Portsmouth in their last home game.

"If I have to compare the two games, I prefer this one to the Portsmouth game, even if the score is only 2-1," the Frenchman said after the win at Loftus Road.

"How we played today, defensively and offensively, no comparison for me. I prefer this game.

"We deserved to win the Portsmouth game, but probably not 6-1.

"If we continue to play like today, we will have a bigger chance of getting more points."

QPR head coach Julien Stephen has said his team deserve to end their Championship season on a high.

The Rs are 12th in the Championship table, 10 points short of the play-offs with seven games remaining but the Frenchman is determined they do not coast to the end of the campaign.

"It's always better to go on holiday after a good end to the season," Stephan told BBC Radio London.

"With all the effort the players have given this season they deserve to finish well."

QPR have won their past two league games, including a 6-1 hammering of Portsmouth a fortnight ago at Loftus Road and host Watford on Friday (15:00 BST).

"If you want to win the games you need to play great football with great commitment and great physical commitment," Stephan added.

"Because sometimes the most difficult thing at the end of the season is to find the same physical commitment with fatigue and you need to find a way to play an intense game with quality with the ball."

Listen to more QPR interviews and content on BBC Sounds.

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Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Queen's Park Rangers head coach Julien Stephan believes his side's 6-1 thrashing over Portsmouth on Saturday was not their "best offensive collective performance."

Two goals each from Paul Smyth, Rayan Kolli and Richard Kone contributed to a clinical attacking display from Rangers who have now hit 50 points in the Championship and sit 17th in the table.

The Hoops had only registered nine shots across the match compared to Portsmouth's 20.

"It was not our best offensive collective performance," said Stephan to BBC Radio London after the game.

"I think we have had some better games collectively since the start of the season, but it was really, really clinical today.

"The first three shots, in fact, were three goals, which completely changed the momentum of the game and the balance of power, giving a lot of confidence, even if they managed to score once before half-time.

"But we restarted very well in the second half with the willingness to continue to attack and to score more goals."

Portsmouth will seek an end to a five-match winless streak to keep them outside of the bottom three when they visit Queens Park Rangers on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Pompey have lost four of their past five matches, drawing one, to be left just one point above the relegation line.

But hosts Rangers put an end to a four-match losing streak of their own on Saturday with a comeback win over Leicester City and will be hoping to see out their season in a better position.

• QPR are winless against Portsmouth since their opponents returned to the Championship (D1 L2), with their last league win over them coming in February 2011 under Neil Warnock (2-0).

• Portsmouth won 2-1 in this exact fixture last season (October 2024), ending a run of 12 league trips to face QPR without a victory (D4 L8). They last did so in back-to-back league campaigns in 1922-23 and 1923-24.

• QPR have lost their last three Championship home matches; the last time they lost four consecutive home league games under the same manager was in February-April 2015 under Chris Ramsey (5), when they were in the Premier League.

• Portsmouth are winless in their last five league matches, suffering more defeats in these last five (D1 L4) than in their previous 13 combined (W6 D4 L3).

• Harvey Vale scored and assisted in QPR's 3-1 win at Leicester last time out, registering more goal involvements in that game (2) than in his previous 18 Championship outings (1 goal).

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There have been plenty of contentious decisions in the 2025-26 Championship season so far.

Offside goals given, perfectly good goals ruled out, red card offences missed, penalties not given, dubious spot-kicks awarded. You name it.

With the video assistant referee (VAR) only used for the play-off final, the outcome of every second-tier game in the regular season can hinge on how on-field officials see incidents in real time.

• Would you want VAR introduced for every league game in the Championship?

• If so, why?

• And if not, let us know your reasons.

You can share your thoughts on VAR here or comment below, and we will publish a follow-up article soon with a selection of your responses.

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QPR head coach Julien Stephan spoke to BBC Radio London following their 3-1 win at Leicester City.

"We deserved this win because we showed great character, great personality, and very good collective connection," he said.

"Even though we conceded the first goal we stayed very focused on what we needed to do on the pitch. It was very important for me mentally that we stayed focused.

"We needed to manage cleverly at the end of the game and we did that very well."