Queens Park Rangers manager Julien Stephan is optimistic that key players Ilias Chair, Boy Kemper and Alfie Lloyd will be fit for this weekend's Championship trip to Southampton. The update comes ahead of the Saturday fixture at St Mary's, where the Saints will look to build on their sixth-place standing, having accrued 20 points from a record of seven wins, three draws and two losses.

Stephan provided the news this week, noting that both Chair and Lloyd are progressing well. "Alfie has trained in part of the session and now hopefully he will be completely involved, and the same for Illy," the manager said. He added that the final decision would be made after the main training session on Wednesday.

Injury doubts for QPR

Midfielder Boy Kemper did not train initially but is expected to recover in time. "Boy didn't train but, and I'm not a doctor, I think it will be okay for the end of the week," Stephan stated. Defender Jake Clarke-Salter, however, remains a doubt for the match. Ilias Chair has not featured for QPR since last month, while Alfie Lloyd has missed the club's last two matches.

Southampton enter the game in strong form, sitting sixth in the Championship with 20 points from 12 games. Their recent run of three wins, one draw and one loss includes a dramatic 3-2 victory over West Ham last Friday. That win, secured with goals from Kuryu Matsuki, James Bree and Lewis Dobbin, was part of a recent sequence that also includes a 1-0 win at Norwich, a 1-0 home victory over Portsmouth, and a goalless draw with Bolton. Russell Martin's side have scored 24 goals this season while conceding just 12, with Cyle Larin leading the line with seven. The full fixtures list shows this is the first of a busy period, with their next match being away to Norwich City on Tuesday.

QPR, currently eighth, will present a tough challenge. The Saints' defence, which has conceded only 12 goals, will need to be alert. The match kicks off on Saturday as both teams aim to close the five-point gap to league leaders Middlesbrough. Southampton's last home game ended in a goalless draw with Bolton. The team has averaged 1.7 goal minutes per game this season. Their next fixture is at home to QPR on Saturday 31 October.

This story first appeared at onefootball.com