Middlesbrough round-up as QPR receive fitness boost and Seny Dieng makes Sheffield Wednesday statement

Middlesbrough travel to Queens Park Rangers in a key clash in the race for Premier League promotion.

Boro ended a three-game winless streak by beating Birmingham City 3-1 away on Monday night, keeping them second in the Championship table, but only three points ahead of Ipswich Town having played a game extra and with a goal difference disadvantage.

With that in mind, Kim Hellberg’s side can likely afford no more slip-ups in their final 11 games of the campaign, starting with Sunday’s trip to the capital to face a QPR side sitting 15th, but still on the fringes of the playoff race, despite just one win in their last five.

QPR receive fitness boost ahead of Boro clash

Sunday’s hosts have received a timely boost with the news that Kwame Poku is set to return to the squad.

The Ghanaian winger joined the Rs from Peterborough in the summer after registering 23 goals and 15 assists in 66 League One appearances over the last two seasons for Peterborough United.

However, Poku’s time at Loftus Road has been disrupted so far by injury, with a hamstring problem sustained in January keeping him out for the last couple of months. The 24-year-old has been restricted to just eight QPR appearances so far, and he’s yet to register a goal or assist.

But with QPR’s attack misfiring in recent games - failing to score in three of their last five matches, including the last two - manager Julien Stephan has confirmed Poku should be fit to play some part against Boro.

“[He is] probably not ready to play 90 minutes, but I hope to play him [for] 15 to 20 minutes,” Stephan said of Poku in his pre-match press conference.

QPR shifting focus away from playoff race

QPR’s recent slump has left them 10 points adrift of the playoff places with just 11 games left to play, with their chances of making the top six now incredibly slim.

“To be fair, to be in this position until the middle of February – I don't want to say it was amazing, but it was a good surprise, I think, for everybody,” Stephan admitted, adding: “And, yeah, okay, we dropped last week, especially in terms of results.”

While the Hoops could still rally and climb back up the table, Stephan has admitted his main focus is now on offering more experience to a QPR squad with the fourth-lowest average age in the Championship (25.6).

“The main target is to stay focused on the football, the performance, on how we can give more maturity and more experience for these young players. Of course, we have a competitive mindset, so we want to win some games until the end of the season,” the Frenchman said.

He continued: “But the main thing now is to give this experience for young players, but their target now, and the objective of these players is to show their quality and to show some improvement each game.”

Seny Dieng sends Sheffield Wednesday farewell message

Seny Dieng has sent a parting message to the Sheffield Wednesday supporters following his short loan with the Yorkshire club.

Dieng has fallen utterly out of favour at the Riverside Stadium and hasn’t made a senior Boro appearance since December 2024, instead playing sporadically for the club’s U21 side.

The Senegal international was signed by Wednesday on an emergency loan following an injury crisis and made three appearances for the Owls. Wednesday lost all three of those matches, with Dieng conceding seven goals, but the 31-year-old certainly did his best to keep things respectable, averaging 3.0 saves per 90 minutes and avoiding making a single error leading to a goal.

Pierce Charles’ return to fitness means Dieng has departed Hillsborough, and the goalkeeper has sent a message to the Wednesday fans on social media.

“Thank you to everyone at Sheffield Wednesday and the incredible fans,” Dieng wrote on Instagram.

Dieng was clearly popular among his teammates, with veteran defender Liam Cooper replying: “Top man, go well mate.”

Meanwhile, fellow gloveman Charles called Dieng a ‘top guy’.

QPR vs Middlesbrough kicks off at 4:30pm.

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