Alex Pritchard made his first start of 2023 as Tony Mowbray made three changes to the side that began Sunderland's weekend win against Reading on Wearside. Mowbray had said before the game that he would look to freshen up his side after admitting they lacked sharpness against the Royals, and he was as good as his word.
Pritchard - who has been eased back into action in recent weeks after recovering from the calf injury that had sidelined him since December - started instead of Amad, while Mowbray also opted to change his midfield pairing. Luke O'Nien and Abdoullah Ba came into the side, with Dan Neil and Edouard Michut making way.
Amad, Neil, and Michut were all included on the bench. Dennis Cirkin was also amongst the subs after recovering from the concussion he suffered at Millwall ten days ago.
READ MORE: QPR vs Sunderland LIVE: Early team news and build up from Loftus Road
QPR boss Neil Critchley made two changes, in his case to the side that started the weekend home defeat at the hands of Millwall, as he looked to put an end to his team's nine-game winless streak in all competitions. Chris Martin joined as a free agent earlier this month and scored after making his debut as a sub against Millwall, and he was rewarded with his first start with Sinclair Armstrong dropped to the bench.
And the other change saw Tim Iroegbunam replace Stefan Johansen. Former Sunderland loanee Jimmy Dunne - who spent six months with the Black Cats in 2019 while a Burnley player - was part of QPR's starting line-up.
Follow all the action from Loftus Road on our live blog here.
Tonight's teams
Sunderland: Patterson, Hume, Ballard, Batth, Alese, O'Nien, Pritchard, Ba, Roberts, Gelhardt, Clarke
Subs: Bass, Cirkin, Amad, Bennette, Lihadji, Neil, Ekwah
QPR: Dieng, Laird, Dickie, Dunne, Paal, Dozzell, Field, Iroegbunam, Chair, Martin, Lowe
Subs: Archer, Kakay, Johansen, Dixon-Bonner, Gubbins, Armstrong, Adomah
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