QUEENS PARK RANGERS v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League Wednesday 26th December 2012,
3pm Loftus Road
MATCH
NOTES
Albion have not won on any of
their last 11 league visits to
London,
since a 3-2 win at Arsenal in September 2010.
The Baggies are unbeaten in Premier League action against
Rangers and have lost just one of their last four league visits to
Loftus Road.
Albion have won just four out of
their last 17 games played on Boxing Day. The last victory coming in 2009 at
home to Peterborough United.
Rangers and Albion have met on Boxing Day at Loftus Road once before, in 1968,
when Alan Ashman's men ran out 4-0 winners. Ian Collard (2), Dennis Martin and
Ronnie Rees were the goalscorers.
Albion's last six games: Norwich
City (H) 2-1; West Ham United (H) 0-0; Arsenal (A) 0-2; Stoke City (H) 0-1;
Swansea City (A) 1-3; Sunderland (A) 4-2
Rangers' last six games: Newcastle United (A) 0-1;
Fulham (H) 2-1; Wigan Athletic (A) 2-2; Aston Villa (H) 1-1; Sunderland (A) 0-0;
Manchester United (A) 1-3
TEAM
NEWS
Albion
Midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu returns in place of Graham
Dorrans after serving his one match suspension whilst Marc-Antoine Fortune
replaces Peter Odemwingie in the starting line-up.
Claudio Yacob (hamstring) and Steven Reid (shin) are both
out.
Line-up:
Foster; Jones, McAuley, Olsson, Popov; Mulumbu, Morrison;
Fortune, Gera, Brunt; Lukaku. Subs: Myhill; Ridgewell, Rosenberg, Long,
Dorrans, Odemwingie, Tamas.
Queens Park Rangers
Rangers’ goalkeeper Julio Cesar should be fit to return after
his back injury but defenders Nedum Onuoha and Armand Traore are both doubtful
due to hamstring problems.
Park Ji-sung (knee), Andrew Johnson (knee) and Bobby Zamora
(hip) are all out.
Squad from:
Green, Cesar, Murphy, Cerny, Onuoha, Hill, Nelsen, Ferdinand,
Mbia, Fabio, Traore, Derry, Diakite, Granero, Taarabt, Hoilett, Faurlin,
Wright-Phillips, Ephraim, Mackie, Cisse.
QUOTES
Baggies' boss Steve Clarke:
"I think it's a surprise to most people in football that QPR
are where they are. They made a significant investment during the summer in a
number of players.
“Harry has gone in there and they managed to get their first win. We are playing
them on the back of that first home win. They lost narrowly at
Newcastle, which is
understandable because it’s a difficult place to go.
"They will be buoyed by the fact they won their previous home
game. We will need to be at our best to get anything out of the game.
“Harry has been in charge for five matches. They’ve only lost the last one,
which was a difficult away one at St James’ Park.
“He's managed to get a first win on the board. That would have been a big
psychological barrier for them.
“We have to go there and make sure we’re strong mentally and up for the fight
because they are fighting for their lives. We have to impose our style of
football on them and hopefully get another positive result.”
www.wba.co.uk
Queens Park Rangers' manager
Harry Redknapp:
“They’ve done really well. Steve Clarke has done an excellent
job.
“They’re a side that’s been building for years and has got
better every year.
“But we’re at home, we won our last home game against Fulham
and we’ve got to be ready now for
West Brom and
Liverpool.
www.qpr.co.uk
MATCH
ODDS
Result
Albion Win: 21/10, QPR Win: 5/4, Draw: 23/10.
First Goalscorer Cisse 11/2,
Mackie 6/1, Taarabt 13/2, Long 13/2, Lukaku 7/1, Hoilett 8/1, Odemwingie 8/1,
Fortune 9/1, Rosenberg 9/1, Wright-Phillips 12/1, Gera 12/1, Morrison 12/1,
Brunt 14/1, Ephraim 16/1, Granero 16/1, Diakite 18/1, Dorrans 18/1, El Ghanassy
18/1, Dyer 20/1, Mulumbu 20/1.
REFEREE
Chris Foy (Merseyside) - Has refereed two
Albion games so far this season, the 1-0 victory at home to Reading in September
and the 2-1 defeat at Newcastle in October. The Merseyside official took charge
of three Albion games last season, all at The Hawthorns - The 2-0 win against
Wolves in October, the 4-0 win against Sunderland in February, and the 3-1
defeat against Newcastle United in March.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the game
have now completely sold out.
WEATHER FORECAST
Rain, 9°C
FIXTURE HISTORY
The first ever meeting between the two clubs was a friendly
match at Rangers' West Kilburn ground on 8 January 1898. The
game saw Albion run out 4-1 winners.
The first league meetings took place during the 1948/49
season. The first game, which took place at Loftus Road on November 6,
ended in a 2-0 win for the Baggies. Dave Walsh and Frank Hodgetts were the
scorers in front of a crowd of almost 25,000.
The return game at The
Hawthorns in April ended all-square at 1-1, Billy Elliott the Albion
goalscorer whilst Billy Pointon netted for the visitors.
Albion’s biggest win against
Rangers is 5-1, achieved during Albion's Championship winning season of 2007/08.
Kevin Phillips (2), Ishmael Miller, Robert Koren and captain Jonathan Greening
were the goalscorers for Tony Mowbray's men.
Another big win for the Baggies
came at Loftus Road in December 1968 when Albion, then under FA Cup Winning
manager Alan Ashman, strolled to a 4-0 victory. Ian Collard (2), Dennis Martin
and Ronnie Rees the goalscorers.
QPR's biggest win against the
Baggies is 3-1, achieved twice, first in August 1984 when Simon Stainrod (2) and
Terry Fenwick netted and then in March 2010 when former Albion loanee Jay
Simpson was amongst the Rangers' goalscorers.
LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT LOFTUS ROAD
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Albion Barclays Premier League Saturday
3rd December 2011,
3:00pm
Queens
Park Rangers:
Cerny, Young,
Gabbidon, Ferdinand, Traore, Mackie, Barton, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Bothroyd
(Buzsaky 74), Helguson. Subs not used: Putnins, Orr, Hill, Derry, Taarabt,
Smith.
Goalscorer: Helguson 20
Albion:
Foster, Reid, Olsson, McAuley, Shorey, Thomas (Odemwingie
65), Dorrans (Tchoyi 78), Mulumbu (Scharner 83), Morrison, Brunt, Long. Subs
not used: Fulop, Dawson, Jones, Cox.
Goalscorer:
Long 81
Booked:
Long, Thomas, Reid
Attendance: 17,290
Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Shane Long's late goal helped
West Brom rescue a point from a
match QPR will be wondering how they failed to win.
The Rs looked set to propel themselves into the top half when
Heidar Helguson netted for the fourth successive Premier League match. The
34-year-old's sixth of the campaign came after 20 minutes when he headed home a
superb first-time ball from Joey Barton at the back-post. Shaun Wright-Phillips
thought he had doubled the home side's advantage moments later, although the
winger's superb effort was chalked off for a tight offside call. Neil Warnock
felt aggrieved at the decision and saw his side fritter away numerous chances to
extend their lead, allowing Long to level in the 81st minute. Substitute Peter
Odemwingie ghosted down the left flank and his superb cross was tucked away by
Ireland
international Long at the back post.
Heading into the match, the home side had been boosted by the
return of skipper Barton from suspension, while Jay Bothroyd was also drafted in
by manager Warnock. Counterpart Roy Hodgson made one change of his own for the
Loftus Road
encounter, bringing in Graham Dorrans for the injured Zoltan Gera. The Hungary
international has been ruled out for the season after rupturing his anterior
cruciate ligament, although replacement Dorrans looked lively in the opening
exchanges. Fellow Scotland international James Morrison fired in the first shot
of the afternoon in the ninth minute, before Wright-Phillips and Barton had
attempts of their own at the other end. Neither managed to test West Brom
goalkeeper Ben Foster, but counterpart Radek Cerny was being tested with
regularity. The third-choice QPR goalkeeper - playing due to injuries to both
Paddy Kenny and Brian Murphy - thwarted a weak Gareth McAuley header before then
doing well to stop a Jerome Thomas effort. While
West Brom looked slightly more dangerous going forward, it was QPR that broke the
deadlock after a fine move in the 20th minute. Jamie Mackie's mazy run in the
box was halted by a fine tackle, but the ball fell kindly for Barton to loft a
first-time ball to the back-post for Helguson to head home. QPR thought they had
doubled their advantage moments later when Wright-Phillips showed great
technique to fire past Foster, although the winger's goal was disallowed for a
tight offside call. Despite the frustration, the west Londoners were playing
with new-found confidence and Mackie came close with a long-range shot as the
home side pressed with half-time closing in.
QPR continued in the ascendancy after the break and, having
seen Morrison's calls for a penalty turned down at the other end, a lucky
ricochet saw the home side come close to netting a second. Alejandro Faurlin
controlled the ball after a blocking a clearance, played a neat one-two with
Barton and then curled just wide under pressure from Foster. The match ebbed and
flowed as West Brom began
to assert themselves more, although QPR again came close during a penalty-box
scramble involving Wright-Phillips, Mackie and Helguson. West Brom were still in
with a shout and Chris Brunt saw a long-range effort drift wide shortly after
Foster almost gifted the Rs a second goal. Armand Traore hassled the Albion
goalkeeper, whose failure to make a simple collection would have been punished
if Wright-Phillips could have directed home the left-back's cross. QPR continued
to press for an all-important second goal and were made to pay for their
futility nine minutes from time. Odemwingie outpaced Luke Young down the left
flank and Long tucked home from close range at the back post. The home side
pressed forward in a bid to regain the lead, but were frustrated by West Brom's
resolute defence and had Cerny to thank for stopping a late Brunt free-kick.
Sporting Life
CURRENT CONNECTIONS
Rob Hulse spent two years at The Hawthorns after
joining from Crewe Alexandra in the summer of 2003. His first season at the club
was a success and he quickly became a fan favourite but with the club clinching
promotion to the Premier League he would find appearances harder to come by the
following season at the higher level. Hulse joined Leeds United on loan for the
last three months of the 2004/05 season before leaving to join them permanently
at the end of the season. Spells at Sheffield United and
Derby County followed before the
Crewe-born striker moved to
Loftus Road
in September 2010. His time at Rangers’ has not been a success and the player is
currently on loan at Charlton Athletic.
Current Baggies’ right-back Steven Reid spent a month
on loan at Loftus Road from Blackburn Rovers
during the 2009/10 season shortly before joining Albion whilst Baggies'
winger Jerome Thomas spent two spells on loan at Rangers from
Arsenal during 2002.
PAST
CONNECTIONS
Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for
both clubs are: Colin Anderson, Brett Angell, Gary Bannister, Paul Barron, Steve Burke,
Clive Clark, Danny Dichio, Jimmy Dugdale, Lloyd Dyer, Peter Eastoe, Wayne
Fereday, Danny Gabbidon, Allan Glover, Adam Haywood, Peter Hucker, Andy
King, Billy Law, Andy McDermott, Ishmael Miller, Paul Peschisolido, Nigel
Quashie, Alf Ridyard, Georges Santos, Ernie Shepherd, Jay Simpson, Garry
Thompson, Billy Thompson, Ben Watson, Ike Webb, Fred Wheldon, Bill
Williams.
Ray Harford had short spells as manager of both clubs during the
late 1990s; Gordon Clark, who was Baggies' boss from 1959-61, was
later assistant manager at Rangers; Former Albion player and manager
Don Howe later coached and managed QPR; Mike Kelly coached at
both clubs.
ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS QUEENS PARK RANGERS
VENUE |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Home |
20 |
11 |
6 |
3 |
38 |
22 |
Away |
17 |
6 |
3 |
8 |
19 |
19 |
Neutral |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
Total |
39 |
17 |
9 |
13 |
59 |
45 |
LAST
TEN MATCHES AGAINST QUEENS PARK RANGERS
DATE |
COMPETITION |
H/A |
F-A |
GOALSCORERS |
GATE |
Sat 06 Oct 2012 |
Premier League |
H |
3-2 |
Morrison,
Gera, Mulumbu - Taarabt, Granero |
23,987 |
Sat 14 Apr 2012 |
Premier League |
H |
1-0 |
Dorrans |
25,521 |
Sat 03 Dec 2011 |
Premier League |
A |
1-1 |
Long - Helguson |
17,290 |
Sat 06 Mar 2010 |
Championship |
A |
1-3 |
Brunt - Simpson, Connolly, Buzsaky |
14,578 |
Mon 14 Dec 2009 |
Championship |
H |
2-2 |
Thomas, Cox - Olsson (og), Gorkss |
21,565 |
Sun 04 May 2008 |
Championship |
A |
2-0 |
Kim, Brunt |
18,309 |
Sun 30 Sep 2007 |
Championship |
H |
5-1 |
Phillips 2, Miller, Koren, Greening - Ainsworth |
24,757 |
Sat 31 Mar 2007 |
Championship |
A |
2-1 |
Phillips, Gera - Blackstock |
14,784 |
Tue 31 Oct 2006 |
Championship |
H |
3-3 |
Ellington, Kamara 2 - Stewart, Gallen, Nygaard |
17,417 |
Sat 13 Jan 2001 |
League Division 1 |
A |
0-2 |
Plummer, Koejoe |
11,881 |
|