Southampton return to St. Mary's on Halloween as the Championship action just keeps coming thick and fast.
They venture back to home soil after a statement win at West Ham United, which has now left them three points off the automatic promotion positions in the second tier.
The wins just need to keep coming if Tonda Eckert's men want to be considered as automatic promotion candidates, and they will fancy their chances of overcoming the test of Queens Park Rangers, when the R's head down to the South Coast.
History suggests the Saints will win against QPR
QPR and Southampton have met regularly over the years, whether that's in the Premier League, or in the Championship.
The last four encounters have all fell in the second tier, and the South Coast giants have come out on the winning side every single time.
Under Russell Martin, during the promotion-winning 2023/24 season, they handled the stern test of the West Londoners well, overcoming them 2-1 and 1-0 on their way to reaching the top-flight.
Amazingly, last season, a 2-1 win at Loftus Road ended up being Eckert's first game as interim boss, with Leo Scienza scoring the winner to hand the German a debut three points.
The fixture back at St Mary's, when Eckert was the permanent manager, was far more emphatic in the Saints' favour, as Southampton tore Julien Stephan's visitors to shreds 5-0.
The last time QPR actually got the better of the Saints in a league fixture was all the way back in 2013, when the teams were fighting it out in the Premier League, as Loic Remy and Jay Bothroyd shared the goals out for the away side in a 2-1 success at St. Mary's.
This wasn't yesterday, of course, as Mauricio Pochettino was only a matter of months into his South Coast regime, long before Eckert stepped into the dug-out.
Across the last ten meetings, stretching back to 2008, QPR have only won two clashes, including that away day success during the early days of Pochettino.
History is backing another Championship victory for Southampton, therefore, after they turned heads at the London Stadium, but the R's shouldn't be underestimated, as they turned their own set of heads during their last second tier encounter.
The R's shouldn't be underestimated though
Indeed, Richard Kone scored the earliest hat-trick in EFL history last time out when he scored three goals inside a bonker 15 minutes for Stephan's hosts.
This would culminate in QPR running out as convincing 5-0 victors against Swansea City, with Swansea usually no pushovers, in second spot in the Championship.
If the R's can blow away the Welsh giants in such convincing fashion, they will be striving to do the same against Eckert's men, to show they should be taken seriously in their own ascent up the league.
The earliest hat-trick in EFL history from Richard Kone 💨 pic.twitter.com/6ixIWj6CP0
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) October 24, 2026
At the end of the day, despite history suggesting that Eckert and Co. should win, QPR are currently on the exact same points total as the Saints, having only lost two Championship games all season long.
Ronnie Edwards also won't need much to motivate him in the build-up to the match at St. Mary's, as he tries to keep another clean sheet to get one over on his former employers.
It should be an exciting second tier game to keep tabs on as a neutral, with many backing the automatic promotion hopefuls to collect their sixth home league victory of the season against a tough, but beatable, QPR team.
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