QPR v Spurs – Match Preview

On Sky

QPR face Spurs tomorrow at Loftus Road, where they hope to complete a hat trick of London derby victories this season. The R’s followed up their sensational victory over Chelsea with a solid draw against West Brom in the FA Cup. I believe it was crucial for QPR not to lose against West Brom, continuing that mini run of being undefeated. That added confidence could well come in handy tomorrow, as a pacey Spurs team will be a tough test for our ageing defence. If QPR approach the game in a similar vein to the Chelsea match, they could be in with a chance. It doesn’t matter that QPR are at home, the Super Hoops best results last season came in that run when they played counter attacking football whilst remaining resilient and compact at the back. It worked against Chelsea and could work tomorrow.

Hopefully, the fact that Sky are televising the game won’t make too much difference to the fixture. Although, it’s fair to say QPR haven’t covered themselves in glory on television this season but maybe that will change. As for Spurs, their manager Andre Villas-Boas has tweaked their style slightly since his arrival. They are much more pragmatic in their build-up and they don’t play at a 100 miles per hour like Spurs did under former boss Harry Redknapp. They’re on a great run of form which has resulted in Villas-Boas being awarded with the manager of the month award. However, there is still a minority of supporters that aren’t convinced by the new manager but credit to him, he’s done well so far. Spurs have quality all over the pitch and it will be up to Rangers to squeeze the life out of it by getting men behind the ball and defending with courage and concentration. Spurs have pace throughout the side so if QPR can get men behind the ball it should nullify that threat to an extent.

Last Fixture

QPR 1 (Dyer)
West Brom (Long)

Team: Cesar, Hill, Nelsen (Onuoha), Ben-Haim, Park, Taarabt, Granero (Bothroyd), Dyer, Mbia, Mackie, Campbell.

Spurs 3 (Dempsey x2, Bale)
Coventry 0

Team: Friedel, Naughton, Dawson, Caulker, Assou-Ekotto, Dempsey, Huddlestone, Parker (Dembele), Bale (Townsend), Sigurdsson (Carroll), Adebayor.

QPR Team News:

Ryan Nelsen is available for the time being and should start against Spurs. Junior Hoilett is out with a hamstring injury and Samba Diakite is away with Mali.

Possible line up:

Player to watch: Adel Taarabt

The former Spurs player has developed enormously since his time at White Hart Lane. He’s been QPR’s most creative and effective player in attack and has led from the front with his goals. His performance as a lone striker against Chelsea was very impressive and his hold up and link up play was top class. Taarabt will want to have a good game against his former employers to show them what they are missing. When Taarabt plays well, QPR usually do okay. It will be interesting to see if Taarabt plays up top again as the lone striker.

Spurs Team News:

Emmanuel Adebayor is available. William Gallas is out with a calf complaint.

Possible line up:

Player to watch: Aaron Lennon

Aaron Lennon has been identified as the player to watch ahead of the match against Spurs.

For Vital QPR’s comprehensive review of the midfielderClick Here >>>

The Stat Attack

LAST FIVE

Queens Park Rangers: LLLWD
Spurs: DWWWW

HEAD 2 HEAD

Queens Park Rangers: 14
Spurs: 20
Draw: 16

LAST TIME OUT

Premier League – 23/09/12
White Hart Lane

Spurs 2 (Faurlin go, Defoe)
QPR 1 (Zamora)

Team: Cesar, Bosingwa (Dyer), Hill, Onuoha, Nelsen, Wright-Phillips (Mackie), Park, Granero, Hoilett, Faurlin, Zamora (Cisse).

Attendance: 36,052

Ref Watch:

Referee: Lee Probert
Assistants: Andy Garratt & Ron Ganfield
Fourth Official: Jon Moss

Lee Probert is the match official for Saturday’s game against Spurs. This season Probert has issued 57 yellow cards and 2 red cards in 21 games.

Match Prediction:

If QPR can make it a boring and unspectacular game then they stand a great chance of snatching something. I think QPR need to adopt the defensive approach and take their chances on the break like they did against Chelsea. If QPR attack Spurs and invite them into an open game, they will struggle to deal with the likes of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon. QPR don’t have the legs in defence to keep up with them for ninety minutes, so to sit back and play in a compact style suits the current QPR personel more. I think it will end in a draw tomorrow which would be a decent result. Not ideal as we really need three points but a point against Spurs is a commendable result.

1-1Score Draw

Next Up

Who: West Brom
Where: The Hawthorns
When: 15/01/13