Zan Celar starts: The predicted QPR XI to face WBA on Saturday | OneFootball

Football League World has predicted how Marti Cifuentes will set up his QPR side for their opener against West Bromwich Albion

QPR will be vying to get their 2024/25 Championship campaign off to a strong start when they welcome West Bromwich Albion to Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon.

The feel-good factor around the blue and white quarters of West London is palpable and expectation will be high this weekend, with QPR having made a selection of exciting signings ahead of Marti Cifuentes' first full season in the job.

With that in mind, Football League World has taken a go at predicting how the Spaniard will line up when the Baggies come to town in three days' time...

GK: Paul Nardi

Managers sometimes adopt a patient, gradual bedding-in process when it comes to deciding whether to start summer signings in the early knockings of the season. However, that surely won't be the case with Nardi, who arrived from Gent last month but is poised to man the sticks against West Brom.

Of course, last term's first-choice shot-stopper Asmir Begovic has since left the club and Nardi's only rival for the gloves is 22-year-old Joe Walsh.

Walsh has played just twice for QPR at senior level, so it's safe to say that Nardi will be making his league debut this weekend.

RB: Jimmy Dunne

Though a central defender by trade, Dunne performed admirably on the right-hand side of Cifuentes' backline towards the end of the previous campaign.

Therefore, his place also appears to be in little doubt.

CB: Steve Cook

Cook was another exceptional performer at the very heart of QPR's defence last term. The veteran defender showed age is just a number with a series of steely displays and they should only be continued in the upcoming campaign, aided by the more dynamic Jake Clarke-Salter alongside him.

CB: Jake Clarke-Salter

Clarke-Salter's immediate future with the club still appears somewhat uncertain heading into the closing weeks of the summer window, with Premier League side Wolves having displayed an interest.

Nonetheless, he can still feel pretty confident of starting QPR's opening fixture. The classy central defender, who is a product of the Chelsea academy, represents his side's finest option in this area of the pitch - and it's no real surprise that he has earned admiration from the Premier League.

He may not be a QPR player for too much longer, but he's indispensable for as long as he's at the club.

LB: Kenneth Paal

Another R's defender to have been courted elsewhere in recent times is Paal, who has been linked with Watford.

Once again, though, he's a QPR player for now and his place in the side feels very secure.

CM: Jack Colback

Assessing predicted starting berths across the QPR midfield requires more thought than their backline, which pretty much picks itself at this stage.

That said, Colback could well start. He's proved a useful squad rotation option for Cifuentes and offers the willingness to do the dirty work in the middle of the park, trying to close West Brom's midfielders down and prevent them from having too much time on the ball.

It may be too soon for a start for Jonathan Varane, who has recently arrived from Sporting Gijon to much fanfare.

CM: Sam Field

An ever-present across the last two campaigns, Field's presence in the QPR starting eleven feels an absolute certainty when he's available.

That likely won't change on Saturday afternoon against his former club, even if Elijah Dixon-Bonner did feature with more regularity last year.

RW: Paul Smyth

Though he tends to divide opinion, nippy winger Smyth seems likely to start on the right flank.

QPR are short of wide options and are yet to replace Chris Willock following his departure to Cardiff City as a free agent, so it's hard to see who usurps the ex-Leyton Orient attacker until they bring in further reinforcements.

CAM: Lucas Andersen

Andersen is sure to start against WBA, as he provides the sprinkling of creativity and flair into QPR's midfield as an attacking playmaker. He assisted four goals after his arrival in the second-half of the previous season, and will take some displacing.

That makes the ex-Ajax prospect a shoo-in to make his side's first starting side of the season.

LW: Ilias Chair

Though perhaps more at home in the number 10 role, Chair remains highly effective playing off the left and is surely the most indispensable asset at Cifuentes' disposal.

At his best, everything positive QPR do tends to flow through him. Technically excellent with bags of invention, skill and a final ball to boot, the Morocco international has been their creator-in-chief for years now and that's unlikely to change anytime soon.

ST: Zan Celar

Last but not least, it's a three-way toss up between Celar, Michael Frey and Lyndon Dykes to lead the line this weekend.

Nonetheless, it feels as though Cifuentes will hand that responsibility to Celar, who has arrived at QPR this summer to plenty of anticipation after appearing at EURO 2024 for Slovenia and scoring 21 times across all competitions for Lugano in 23/24.