West Ham and QPR clash in Championship as international row brews over midfielder Kamara

West Ham United face Queens Park Rangers in the Championship at 20:00 BST following a three-week international break, with a victory taking the Hammers to the top of the league table. Sixth-placed QPR head into the fixture after drawing their past three games.

Team Changes

QPR manager Julien Stephan has made five changes from the side that drew 2-2 with Preston, bringing in Kealey Adamson, Jake Clarke-Salter, Boy Kemper, Paul Smyth, and Rayan Kolli. Kolli makes his first appearance since April, and Kemper returns for the first time since limping off on the opening day in August, while Glen Kamara keeps his place. Amadou Mbengue, Leon Scarlett, and Harvey Vale drop to the bench, Dennis Cirkin misses out through suspension, and Richard Kone is among the replacements. Meanwhile, West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has made one change from the team that drew 2-2 with Millwall on 19 September, handing Tomas Soucek his first start of the season and first appearance since the World Cup in June after recovering from an ankle injury. Joel Piroe drops to the bench for West Ham, and Mohamadou Kante is suspended following a red card at The Den.

International Dispute

Queens Park Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara nearly missed the match due to a club-versus-country dispute involving FIFA regulations. The Football Association of Finland stated that the 30-year-old player was withdrawn from international duty by QPR ahead of Tuesday's Nations League game against Hungary. Finland head coach Jacob Friis stated that Kamara was in a difficult situation as his club insisted he leave the camp and return to London, forcing him to make an unwelcome decision. FIFA rules dictate that a player released for international duty must stay for the entire window unless an early return is agreed, and cannot play for their club for five days after the window closes without national association consent. Marco Casagrande, general secretary of the Finnish FA, told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper that regulations were not fully followed and that FIFA will be informed. Across eight Championship games this season, Kamara has started three and appeared as a substitute four times.

Recent Awards

West Ham enter the match celebrating a double sweep of the Championship manager and player of the month awards for September. Nuno Espirito Santo oversaw an unbeaten run last month featuring four wins from five league games and 18 goals scored, a turnaround ignited by a 4-2 victory over his former club Wolves at the London Stadium after failing to win their first three August matches. Defender Konstantinos Mavropanos claimed the player of the month honor after scoring four goals and keeping two clean sheets during September, lifting the club to second place in the standings.

Context

The EFL Championship is widely known as one of the most demanding and competitive domestic football leagues in the world, featuring a gruelling 46-match season schedule that often creates friction between club managers and national team coaches over player workloads and international window rules.