Massimo Luongo has emphasised the importance of this afternoon's game, calling it 'a typical six-pointer'.
The Hoops can extend their seven-point gap on the relegation zone with victory over the Tykes, and the Australian international says a victory will take the pressure off next week's trip to Wolves.
Speaking to Get West London, he said: "It’s no secret that this is a big game. We’ve had a bit of a dip since the Burton game with two defeats in a row. If you lose this game then it looks like you’ve got to go to Wolves away and get a result, so this is a massive game.
"It’s a game we’re expected to win. They’re below us so it’s a typical six-pointer where we can create a gap between us and them and make things a little more comfortable for us.
"If you win this game then you go into Wolves away thinking what have we got to lose. If you go into a game like that under pressure then it could go the other way.
"It’d be nice to get a win, especially at home and we’ve got a good opportunity to extend the gap.
"Middlesbrough and Bristol City were always going to be tough, but this is a more realistic game for to get a result, and we’re more than capable of it."
QPR only have to look at last season to see what can go wrong, and Luongo says the team are keen not to make sure history repeats itself.
He said: "We’ve lost the last two games but we’ve been a bit lucky with results elsewhere, but we can’t get too comfortable.
"We just have to look back at last year, we were so far ahead and ended up losing six in a row. We’re all quite cautious of that happening again so we’ve got to make sure we get the job done in these winnable games."
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