Queens Park Rangers 2026-2027 Season Preview
Another season brings fresh challenges for Queens Park Rangers. After finishing 15th in the Championship in 2025–26, QPR entered the new campaign looking to improve on a season in which they collected 58 points from 46 matches. The R’s scored 61 goals and conceded 73, highlighting the need for greater consistency at both ends of the pitch.
There has been significant change around the squad and coaching staff, with Julien Stéphan now in charge and a number of new players forming part of the 2026–27 group. The early weeks of the campaign have provided some encouragement, with QPR taking seven points from their first three Championship matches.
With the season already underway, there is plenty to assess, from last year’s lessons and the summer squad changes to pre-season preparations and QPR’s early competitive results.
Queens Park Rangers 2025-2026 Season Recap
QPR finished the 2025–26 Championship season in 15th place, recording 16 wins, 10 draws and 20 defeats from their 46 league matches. They finished with 58 points, scoring 61 goals and conceding 73. That represented a similar league position to the previous campaign, when QPR also finished 15th, although the 2025–26 side collected two more points.
The attacking workload was shared rather than dominated by one player. Richard Kone and Rumarn Burrell finished as joint league top scorers for QPR with 10 goals each, while Kone scored 11 times in all competitions to finish as the club’s overall leading scorer.
The defensive record was one of the clearest areas for improvement. QPR conceded 73 Championship goals, giving them a negative goal difference of 12. Their results included an impressive 6–1 home victory over Portsmouth in March, but there were also difficult away performances, including a 3–0 defeat at Ipswich on the final day.
The season ultimately ended with QPR comfortably clear of the relegation places but well short of the promotion picture. The challenge for 2026–27 is therefore to turn competitive performances into greater consistency and to make better use of the opportunities created in attack.
Who Is The Manager of Queens Park Rangers?
Julien Stéphan is the QPR head coach for the 2026–27 season. He was appointed in June 2025 and replaced Marti Cifuentes, meaning the original version of this preview was incorrect to list Cifuentes as the manager.
Stéphan arrived at QPR with substantial experience in French football. He previously managed Rennes and Strasbourg, guiding Rennes to the Coupe de France in 2019 and a third-place Ligue 1 finish in the 2019–20 season. He also led Strasbourg to sixth in Ligue 1 in 2021–22.
His first full season in charge gives him the opportunity to shape QPR according to his own tactical ideas and make further progress with the squad. The early results of the 2026–27 Championship campaign have been positive, with QPR unbeaten across their opening three league matches and sitting fourth after two wins and a draw.
The season will provide a much clearer indication of how successfully Stéphan can develop the team over a full Championship campaign.
Queens Park Rangers Summer Transfer Activity
QPR’s 2026 summer recruitment produced a significantly different squad from the one that finished the previous campaign.
The current group includes goalkeeper Pierce Charles, defenders such as Kealey Adamson, Liam Morrison and Ronnie Edwards, and midfielders including Harvey Vale, Koki Saito and Glen Kamara. The attacking options include Rumarn Burrell, Richard Kone, Paul Smyth and Karamoko Dembélé.
Rather than simply adding experience, the recruitment has produced a squad containing a mixture of established Championship players, younger talent and players with international or top-level experience. That gives Stéphan a wider range of options as he looks to establish his preferred team.
Who are Queens Park Rangers’ Key Players?
Ilias Chair remains one of QPR’s most important attacking players. The Morocco international has been a long-standing creative presence at the club and has made a strong start to the 2026–27 campaign, scoring twice and providing an assist in his opening three Championship appearances.
Rumarn Burrell and Richard Kone are important options in attack after sharing the club’s Championship scoring lead with 10 goals apiece in 2025–26. Their goals will again be important if QPR are to improve their attacking output.
At the other end of the pitch, goalkeeper Pierce Charles has started the first three Championship matches of the new campaign. Behind him, QPR’s defensive group includes Jake Clarke-Salter, Jimmy Dunne, Ronnie Edwards and Amadou Mbengue, giving Stéphan several options when selecting his back four or defensive structure.
Midfield also offers a mixture of experience and creativity, with players such as Glen Kamara, Harvey Vale, Koki Saito, Kwame Poku and Jonathan Varane among the available options.
What Are Queens Park Rangers’ Season Expectations?
QPR’s objective for 2026–27 is to improve significantly on the 15th-place finish recorded last season. The early results have provided some encouragement, but three league matches are not enough to establish where the team will ultimately finish.
The biggest areas to monitor will be defensive consistency and attacking productivity. QPR conceded 73 goals last season, while no individual player scored more than 10 Championship goals. Improving those figures would give the team a stronger platform over a 46-match campaign.
There is also a considerable amount of competition for places. Stéphan has a squad featuring established players alongside younger prospects, meaning performances in training and matches should play an important role in determining his selections.
For supporters, the early target will be sustained progress rather than judging the season on a handful of results. QPR have made an unbeaten start, but maintaining that level over the coming months will be the real test.
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