Boss Mick McCarthy believes Town can get a result at QPR on Saturday, just as he does whenever the Blues are in action, despite the home side being most people’s favourites to win the Championship this season and bounce back into the Premier League at the first attempt.
McCarthy says he always goes into a match thinking positively: "I do every time. I’ve never been anywhere and thought anything other than that.
"It’s a different place. The pitch always appears much smaller, whether it is or not, or it's just because the crowd are right on top of you. I think it’s a fantastic atmosphere there.
"I think we can get something, despite their quality, their experience, the Premier League footballers they’ve still got. We’ll be fine, we don’t worry about going anywhere.
"I think it’s important that you [relish those sort of games]. If you’re any other way, if you’re thinking you don’t fancy going there because they’ve got a good team, wow, there’d be nobody going with me, that’s for sure. It’s a feather in your cap if you beat them or get something from them.”
The Town boss says he enjoyed his trips to Loftus Road as a player, most of them anyway: "I always liked going there until they put that plastic pitch down, then it was a bit rough! That was the worst of all, that pitch.
"It’s a good ground to go and play at. It’s one of the smaller ones, but it’s just a great atmosphere, it’s really tightly enclosed, the fans are right on top of the pitch. It’s a good place to play football.”
Whatever the result, he promises that QPR, like everyone else the Blues face this season, will know they’ve been in a game: "I said at the start of the season that I can’t imagine anyone would be thinking ‘Happy days, Ipswich are coming, that’ll be a nice easy one!’.
"It’s just not going to be that way because of myself, because of TC and the demands that we put on them.
"But it’s also because of the players because they’re decent players, they’re a great group of lads, they’re good people and they do things right. You can get beaten in games but it’ll never, ever be for the want of trying with our lads.”
McCarthy seems likely to name the same team which beat Millwall 3-0 last week with Scott Loach in goal, Elliott Hewitt at right-back, Aaron Cresswell at left-back and Tommy Smith and Luke Chambers in the centre of the defence.
In midfield, Cole Skuse — who is expected to be fine despite a minor hip problem - and Luke Hyam will be in the middle with skipper Carlos Edwards on the right and Jay Tabb on the left. Up front, David McGoldrick will partner Daryl Murphy.
Anthony Wordsworth will travel with the squad having recovered from his thigh injury and is likely to be on the bench.
Second-choice keeper Dean Gerken is a doubt due to a dead leg suffered when he collided with Frank Nouble in training. If the former Bristol City and Colchester man doesn’t make it, academy second-year scholar Michael Crowe will be on the first team bench for the first time in a competitive fixture.
Tyrone Mings is still sidelined with his knee injury, while young winger Jack Doherty suffered another ankle injury in Tuesday’s U21 friendly against an Irish development side.
QPR will be without striker Andrew Johnson, who suffered a groin strain in training earlier in the week, while midfielder Alejandro Faurlin (thigh) and full-back Armand Traore (calf) remain out of action.
Midfielder Esteban Granero has joined Real Sociedad on loan, while Tottenham have accepted a bid for Scott Parker and manager Harry Redknapp says that with Fulham also interested, the move's progress is down to the player: "The chairman has agreed a deal with Tottenham. It's up to Scotty now.
"Hopefully Scotty will feel the same and come here. We feel this is a club progressing and we'd love him to be part of it here."
Redknapp says he sees the Blues as potential wild cards this season: "Ipswich are a big club, you just have to look at their history to know that.
"Mick is a top manager. He’s done a good job wherever he’s managed and they ended the season well and have started this campaign impressively.
"Maybe they could be the dark horses this season, like Hull were last season. We know it will be a tough game, but they all are in this league.”
Town have won 28 of the previous encounters between the sides (26 in the league), Rangers 23 (21) and 18 (17) have ended in draws.
The teams last met during QPR’s Championship-winning 2010/11 campaign. In February 2011, second half goals from Clint Hill and Heidar Helguson consigned Town to the second league defeat of Paul Jewell’s reign.
The Blues had been the better side in the first half but after the break Neil Warnock’s team upped a gear and struck twice in the last quarter of an hour.
In the previous September, QPR brought Town’s unbeaten start to the season to an abrupt end as Warnock’s team ran out comfortable 3-0 winners at Portman Road.
Jamie Mackie struck twice in the first half and Heidar Helguson added a third from the spot after the break.
QPR keeper Brian Murphy - who is likely to be on the bench on Saturday - was with Town between January 2010 and August 2011, making 20 appearances, before joining the R’s after turning down a new contract at Portman Road.
Right-back Danny Simpson made seven starts and one sub appearance for the Blues during a loan spell from Manchester United between March and May 2008, while striker Charlie Austin was close to joining Town from Swindon in January 2011 before signing for Burnley, who he left for Loftus Road this summer.
Blues U21 coach Mark Kennedy was on loan with the R's for just over a month in 1998, scoring twice in eight games.
Saturday’s referee is Michael Naylor from South Yorkshire, who last season showed 72 yellow cards and three red in 30 games. Naylor’s most recent Town match was the 2-1 victory at Bolton in December last year in which he booked DJ Campbell, Michael Chopra and one player from the home side.
You can read a fair bit more Town-Queens Park Rangers stuff on the excellent QPR website Loft for Words here.
Squad from: Loach, Gerken, Crowe, Hewitt, Veseli, Cresswell, Smith, Chambers, Berra, Skuse, Hyam, Tunnicliffe, Wordsworth, Edwards, Anderson, Tabb, McGoldrick, Murphy, Nouble, Taylor.