Cock of the Hoops? QPR v Newcastle United – match preview.
Posted on May 1st, 2010 | 43 Comments |
Like old Frank Sinatra, Newcastle will be looking to ooze style and win the game whilst having their sights firmly set on a target of a 100 point haul for the season, and if they can achieve it they will become only the fourth side to do so in Championship history. Thousands of fans are expected to flock to Loftus Road to partake of what is surely going to be a party atmosphere. Many have tickets, some will have a ticket in the home end whilst others won’t have a ticket at all and will just want to be there to take in what should be a carnival atmosphere. One would hope that the players can add fuel to the party fire with a win, and goals will surely be in the offing as QPR have a remarkable record of not being involved in a 0-0 scoreline all season – I hope I haven’t just jinxed things there!
It’s only fair I mention what is potentially at stake around the rest of the Championship tomorrow as there are still some issues at the top and bottom of the table to be resolved. Blackpool take on Bristol City at Bloomfield Road knowing that a win would guarantee them a spot in the play-off’s, whilst Swansea will be relying on Bristol City taking something from the game at Blackpool combined with a win at home to Doncaster to gain the final play-off position for themselves. At the bottom it’s do or die for Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace, the two teams can still be relegated although there is only one relegation position remaining. They meet at Hillsborough tomorrow and Sheffield Wednesday must win to avoid the drop whilst avoiding defeat will see financially troubled Crystal Palace survive.
Onto our game and QPR face a selction headache ahead of the game. Gavin Mahon, Matthew Connolly and Damion Stewart will play no part as they have long term knee, ankle and skull injuries. Peter Ramage will be looking forward to matching up against his former club after missing out on a place in the starting eleven at St James’ Park in September. Manager Neil Warnock has used the last few weeks to blood some of his younger players after they ended any lingering relegation fears. Their last game was a 1-0 win away at Barnsley in which they lined up with a starting XI of;
QPR: Cerny, Ramage, Gorkss, Tosic, Leigertwood, Buzsaky, Faurlin, Ephraim, Parker, German, Priskin.
Newcastle take some familiar faces back to their old stomping ground in the form of Wayne Routledge and Fitz Hall, although the latter will miss out with a hamstring problem. Despite returning to training, long term injury victim Steven Taylor will miss out as playing him is deemed a risk not worth taking. Nile Ranger will be absent with an ankle complaint whilst Jonas Gutierrez will be sunning himself in Argentina in preparation for his World Cup exploits. Steve Harper will drop to the bench whilst Tim Krul gets the chance to prove himself between the sticks and young Haris Vuckic travels with the squad and will be hoping to feature after his recent impressive exploits in the reserves. I would expect a team of;
Newcastle United: Krul, Simpson, Coloccini, Kadar, Enrique, Routledge, Nolan, Barton, Guthrie, Carroll, Lovenkrands.
QPR have the upper hand in head-to-head meetings between the two sides having been the victors on 16 occasions compared to Newcastle United’s 15. QPR have only lost one game out of the last eight and will be looking to sign off with a win in front of their home fans, whilst Newcastle will be looking to extend their unbeaten run from 16 games and rewrite a club record that was set last week.
In summary, the game is really a dead rubber with only the slight incentive of hitting the 100 point mark being the only real team target to aim for. Having said that, competition is fierce for the top scorer award and I would expect our lads to appraoch this game in the professional manner of which we are becoming accustomed to.
My prediction: 1-3.
Howay the lads!
Time: 1:00pm.
Date: Sunday, 2nd May, 2010.
Venue: Loftus Road, London.
Referee: Darren Deadman.
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