I expected the line on cards to be higher here, mainly because of Southampton’s record. The total cards in Southampton matches this season are 4.13, one of the highest averages in the league.
The average goes down 3.94 when looking at Southampton home matches in the Championship alone, but the yellow card average in QPR’s Championship matches is also just over 3.5, as well so that backs up the angle here.
One of the most experienced referees in the Championship is on the match here in Oliver Langford. This is good news for the bet, though, because he is averaging 4.33 yellow cards per match in his 15 appointments in the second tier this season and has surpassed this line in seven of his last nine matches officiated.
The return fixture also went over this line, which adds some extra weight to the bet.