Queens Park Rangers are in for a tough month with fixtures against Middlesbrough this weekend, and Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Derby County after the international break - how will the fans be feeling ahead of November?
Nothing can take away from the fine start to the season that QPR and Mark Warburton have made.
The former Brentford and Forest boss has guided his new team to 9th-place in the Championship after Round 15 - a whole 11 points off Boro in the drop zone, and only two off Bristol City in 6th.
Heading towards Christmas though, QPR have seen a slight dip in form. Warburton’s side have won just twice in their last seven Championship games, and will look to avoid a third-straight defeat against Jonathan Woodgate’s side on Saturday.
Fans will be praying for a win to take them into the international break - the club were in a similar position last month when they beat Blackburn Rovers before the October international break after consecutive defeats in the league.
There couldn't be a better fixture for QPR to halt their losing form though. Boro are the lowest ranked form-team in the Championship with just two points from their last five games, and another objective for QPR this weekend will be to keep their first clean sheet of the season.
A win to nil would set the team up nicely for the rest of the month.
Tests against Fulham and Forest will give QPR fans a further idea of how they fare against the top teams this season - Warburton’s side have faced four of the current top six this season and lost all four.
Their inability against the league’s bigger sides will worry the fans. Promotion was a far-fetched goal at the start of the season but after the unprecedented start they've made, it now seems within the realms of possibility.
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If it’s to become a reality, QPR must show their mettle against top-six sides, and fixtures against Fulham and Forest who’ve slipped up in recent weeks will be ideal opportunities for QPR to instil some self-belief when facing more formidable foe.
A replay of the 2014 Championship play-off final with Derby will be another huge game for QPR as well. Another side who’ve fallen short this season, R’s fans would love to see a win at Pride Park at the end of the month, and it’d be a fine away win against Derby who are 4th in the home-form table.
Fans will see the Boro fixture as a must-win. Anything less would hinder their form going into the month’s remaining fixtures, and the club could well see their season prosperity dwindle with a poor run through November.