Boss Mick McCarthy has handed Luke Varney and Brett Pitman starts as the Blues face QPR at Loftus Road today, the duo having combined to created Town’s late winner against Reading on Tuesday. Daryl Murphy and Ainsley Maitland-Niles drop to the bench, while Luke Hyam misses out with a calf injury.

The Blues - who will be wearing the Barcelona-style kit for only the second time - look likely to line-up in a 4-4-2 formation with Varney - making his first Championship start since May - and Pitman up front and Freddie Sears and Ryan Fraser in the wide roles and with Kevin Bru, who returns to the starting line-up in place of Hyam, alongside Cole Skuse in the centre of midfield.

For QPR, who include former Blues loanee Massimo Luongo, Conor Washington replaces the sold Leroy Fer in an otherwise unchanged team.

QPR: Smithies, Perch, Hall, Onouha, Konchesky, Phillips, Faurlin, Luongo, Hoilett, Washington, Polter. Subs: Ingram, Angella, Chery, Petresso, Tozser, El Khayati, Mackie.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Skuse, Bru, Fraser, Sears, Varney, Pitman. Subs: Henly, Foley, Digby, Coke, Maitland-Niles, Touré, Murphy.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters