Football Bet of the Day: Kolli the new man for QPR?

There’s Uefa Champions League action coming our way on Wednesday night, but for our Football Bet of the Day, I’m turning my attention back to my favourite league of the lot - the Championship. One of the best things about the second tier is that teams that often look completely devoid of any quality or confidence at the start of the season can quickly pick things up with a good run of form. 

QPR and Sheffield Wednesday experienced this last season, and the R’s have had a rocky start to this campaign under Marti Cifuentes. However, they’ve picked up of late, and are the focus of our Football Bet of the Day for Wednesday, December 11. 

I’m excited about QPR right now. After a dismal start to the campaign, they’ve won two of their last three games and finally got their first home win of the season when they hammered Norwich City 3-0 on Saturday. Cifuentes is a talented manager, and injuries have seriously hampered his team’s progress in 2024/25, but injuries have also presented some young players with opportunities. 

The latest man to burst onto the scene in blue and white hoops, is 19-year-old Rayan Kolli. He had only been handed 26 minutes of action since starting on the opening day, when he was called upon to replace Zan Celar after just 13 minutes on Saturday. Celar has been trying to fill the boots of fellow injured striker Michael Frey, and had found some form himself in recent weeks. 

However, Celar’s hamstring issue is now set to keep him out for several weeks, which means that opportunity knocks for Kolli, who certainly took his chance against Norwich. The Algerian teenager scored twice against a decent Norwich defence, with both goals showing the quality he possesses. 

QPR vs Oxford Odds

His first was a superb diving header from a set-piece, while his energy saw him nick the ball off Callum Doyle and race away to finish for his second. I absolutely love young players who play without fear, and after his brace last time out, Kolli is certain to be handed only his second start of the season, but first in his preferred central role. 

His energy should cause problems once again, while a big part of this selection is the Oxford United team that QPR host on Wednesday evening. The U’s are yet to win on the road so far this season, drawing twice and losing on six occasions. That gives them the second-worst away record in the Championship, while they have also conceded 16 goals in those games, averaging two-per-game. 

I’m concerned about their recent form, which has seen them win just one of their last 13 matches - and that came against a woeful Hull City team. They’ve conceded 10 goals in their last three games, and I don’t think it will be long until they are occupying a bottom three spot. I believe QPR will win this game pretty comfortably, and I am happy to back their new star to find the net at least twice on big odds. 

If he finds the net again tonight, his odds for scoring next time out will narrow, so I think it’s time to strike while the iron is hot and back Kolli to score another brace, at 18/1.

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