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Stoke City travel to Loftus Road in a vital match for the Potters if they are to extend their stay in the Premier League to a consecutive sixth season. On the other hand, QPR need a miracle to stay in the Premier League with the Hoops having amassed just 24 points in the 33 games they have played thus far.
QPR
Form Guide: L, D, L, L, W
QPR’s last victory came against Sunderland (3-1) at home over a month ago when hopes of survival arose amongst the fans. But it has been downhill since then, as the Hoops failed to defeat Aston Villa and Fulham in-hard fought contests, the final score in both games being 3-2 against the Rangers. Harry Redknapp’s men could only muster a draw against fellow relegation contenders Wigan Athletic, and their worries were increased followed by a 2-0 defeat against Everton in their last outing.
A lot was expected from the side after new owner Tony Fernandes spared no expenses to bring in the likes of Junior Hoilett, Park Ji Sung, Julio Cesar, Esteban Granero and Stephane Mbia over the summer, followed by the winter arrival of Loic Remy, Christopher Samba and Jermaine Jenas. Being relegated into the Championship will be a disaster for the club that, at the last count, was £89 million in debt and running at an annual loss of £23 million. However, the club owners are in no hurry to leave and have recently borrowed money from Barclays bank to invest in a new stadium.
Currently sitting 10 points from safety, Redknapp knows the team will have to win all their remaining matches to escape relegation, a feat that opposition manager Tony Pulis claims would be enough to ‘crown Harry as the king of London’. Speaking to the media, the former Portsmouth and Tottenham manager also questioned the motivation of his players and slacked them for being complacent:
“Every game is a must-win but we need to win four games somehow for us to have any chance of avoiding relegation. It’s not going to be easy to do but while there’s games left you’ve got to believe that it can happen.
“You say we have talented players but are they that talented? I don’t know really.”
On the injury front, Armand Traore (calf) is on the brink of a return while Tal Ben Haim, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Luke Young are all expected to sit out. Striker Bobby Zamora will also be a spectator, serving the second of his three-game ban following a red card for kicking Jordi Gomez in the head against Wigan. Loic Remy could be accompanied in the front by Jay Bothroyd who has scored thrice in his last four outings.
Stoke City
Form Guide: L, L, L, D, L
After starting the season on a high, the Potters have seen their campaign go terribly off-track, and having managed to collect just 6 points from their last 14 Premier League matches, are now 16th in the league table, behind Sunderland at 15th and ahead of Aston Villa at 17th just on the basis of goal difference. A side known for its defensive prowess and ability to see out 0-0 draws, Stoke has managed to keep just one clean sheet in their last 14 games in all competitions. Stoke have a difficult fixture list ahead with three of their remaining five matches being away games and a match against Tottenham Hotspur at home.
Winger Matthew Etherington remains doubtful after missing last Sunday’s defeat by Manchester United with a back injury, while defender Marc Wilson (back/hamstring) is hopeful of returning. Jermaine Pennant has returned to the club after a period away from the training ground. However, a decision is yet to be made regarding the winger, who fell out with Pulis for disciplinary reasons last season and made just two appearances at the start of the current campaign before being loaned out to Wolves.
Speaking ahead of the match, Pulis seemed optimistic about his team’s chances of maintaining their Premier League status and highlighted the importance of scoring goals.
“We’re looking for 40 points. Forty keeps you up. So we need six points whether it’s from the next two, the last two, whatever.
“We have needed to score more goals. Even when we were doing well, we weren’t scoring enough goals. We’ve had great chances and missed them and struggled in both boxes. We’ve given poor, poor goals away.”
Head to Head:
The last meeting between the two sides ended in 1-0 victory for Stoke at home. QPR dominated the proceedings throughout the game, but a 52nd minute strike from Charlie Adam against the run of play proved to be the winner.
Stats:
- Queens Park Rangers have won three of their last four league fixtures against Stoke.
- Stoke have lost six successive Premier League games away from home. If they lose this match, they’ll equal their worst ever run of seven away defeats (Jan 2011 – Apr 2011).
- QPR striker Loic Remy has scored in four of his last six appearances for QPR in the Premier League and in both of QPR’s last two games at Loftus Road. Remy is already QPR’s joint-top scorer this season (five goals) despite playing only nine Premier League games.
- Stoke have scored just seven goals in their last 13 Premier League matches, with only one of these scored in the first half.
- 41% of QPR’s league goals this season have been scored from outside the area (a league-high), while just 4% of Stoke’s have come from range (a league-low).
Teams:
QPR (predicted): Cesar; Bosingwa, Samba, Hill, Onuoha; Townsend, Jenas, Ji-Sung, Hoilett; Taarabt, Remy.
Stoke City (predicted): Begovic; Cameron, Huth, Shawcross, Wilkinson; Shotton, Nzonzi, Whelan, Adam, Walters; Jones.
Match officials
Referee: Chris Foy; Assistants: S Child, R Ganfield; Fourth official: A Taylor.
