Micah Richards, Gareth Barry, Edin Dzeko and Joleon Lescott could all return against Neil Warnock’s men, while David Silva’s fitness will be assessed after he came off with a knock in the midweek Champions League victory.
Skipper Vincent Kompany will serve his one-match ban against Rangers and Stefan Savic is expected to keep his place in the starting XI, probably alongside Lescott.
“We want to continue to play well if it’s possible, but we know that every game is hard,” said Mancini.
QPR play good football and they are not easy to beat to on their own ground, so we are expecting a difficult game
...Roberto Mancini
“They also have some very good, experienced players and they beat Chelsea in their last home game, so they deserve respect and have made a very good start this season.
“Loftus Road is a tight, compact ground and it will be hard if we are not at our very best. We will need to change some players, too, because we are playing two games in three days, but at least there is a break after Saturday.”
The Blues’ boss, who is nursing a bruised head after taking a bang on the Villarreal dug-out, was pleased with the clinical display on Wednesday and hopes his side will continue their superb Premier League form in London this weekend.
“I enjoyed our performance,” he said. “I understand that Villarreal were missing four or five important players, but it’s never easy. We had the majority of the possession, scored three goals and played well. It’s important for our confidence in that competition.
“We’ve improved a lot from the start of the Champions League campaign. We are growing and that’s why it’s important for us to get to the second stage, though Napoli will be very difficult and we must improve again.
“For now, though, our only focus is on QPR and playing well enough to return home with three points.”
