WEST BROMWICH ALBION v QUEENS PARK RANGERS
FA Cup 3rd Round Replay
Tuesday 15th January 2013, 8pm
The Hawthorns

MATCH NOTES

Albion have played six previous FA Cup ties on January 15, winning four, drawing one and losing one. The last victory came in 1979 at home against Coventry City although in 2008 the Baggies did knock Charlton Athletic out of the cup in a penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw in a third round replay at The Hawthorns.

The Baggies' last win in the competition against top-flight opposition was in January 2002 when they beat Leicester City at the fourth round stage.

Rangers have won just one out of their last 19 FA Cup matches, the win came in last season's third round against Milton Keynes Dons.

Albion have lost just one out of the last eleven games between the two sides. They have also lost just once in their last six games against Rangers at The Hawthorns.

Albion's last six games: Reading (A) 2-3; QPR (A FAC) 1-1; Fulham (H) 1-2; Manchester United (A) 0-2; QPR (A) 2-1; Norwich City (H) 2-1

Rangers' last six games: Tottenham Hotspur (H) 0-0; Albion (H FAC) 1-1; Chelsea (A) 1-0; Liverpool (H) 0-3; Albion (H) 1-2; Newcastle United (A) 0-1

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Peter Odemwingie and Steven Reid both return to the squad after suffering from injuries in recent weeks but Shane Long (dead leg), Claudio Yacob and Marc-Antoine Fortune (both hamstring) are all still missing.

Youssouf Mulumbu is away at the African Cup of Nations while Zoltan Gera is out until next season following his cruciate ligament injury.

Squad from: Foster, Myhill, Daniels, Jones, Reid, Olsson, McAuley, Tamas, Dawson, Popov, Ridgewell, Dorrans, Thorne, Brunt, Morrison, Thomas, Odemwingie, Lukaku, Rosenberg, El Ghanassy, Nabi.

Queens Park Rangers

Harry Redknapp will be without the duo of Junior Hoilett (hamstring) and Samba Diakite, who is at the African Nations Cup.

Strikers Andrew Johnson (knee) and Bobby Zamora (hip) are still sidelined with long-term injuries.

Squad from: Green, Cesar, Murphy, Cerny, Onuoha, Hill, Nelsen, Ben-Haim, Ferdinand, Mbia, Park, Fabio, Derry, Granero, Taarabt, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Ephraim, Mackie, Cisse, Campbell.

QUOTES

Baggies' assistant head coach Kevin Keen:

On Rangers and Harry Redknapp:

“QPR are a different team under Harry, they are a lot more organised and I think they’re a bigger threat.

“It will be interesting to see what team he puts out and whether he puts out a bit of a mixture. I think they’ll come and have a go and play. I think any team that’s playing in the FA Cup will come and have a go and will want to progress. They’ve not got European competition, similar to ourselves, so it’s not like they have a load of games coming up.

“I’ve been at clubs that have been down the bottom and sometimes playing in the cup is a refreshing change. Players play with a little bit more freedom rather than with the pressure of relegation. I think they will come and have a go - and certainly we’re up for it.

“Harry’s a great character, a fantastic motivator. He’s got a really good eye for a player and is a really down to earth football person. He is someone you want to run around and do your best for. He loves football and attacking football. He is extremely passionate and I think he can keep them up.”

On reaching cup finals with Liverpool last season:

“For me, having worked 29 years in football and never got to Wembley, to get to an FA Cup final and the League Cup final as well was a tremendous achievement, I’m proud to have worked with Kenny [Dalglish] and Steve to get there last year - it was one of the best days of my life. Even though we ended up losing, to get to a Wembley cup final for the way the supporters react alone and the atmosphere is unbeatable and we’ll be going all out tomorrow to try and get that feeling for the West Brom fans.”

On a potential cup run for Albion:

“Even though it’s only the third round, if you can all of a sudden get to the fifth and sixth rounds the excitement builds. It’s a long time since this club has had major success and that’s what we’ll be trying to give the supporters.”

www.wba.co.uk

QPR coach Joe Jordan:

On Albion’s defeat against Reading on Saturday: 

“They’ll be shell-shocked by that, I watched the game and they had it completely under control.  (Romelu) Lukaku could have had a couple more goals and you could see in his face his frustration.

On this season’s previous matches with Albion:

“This is an opportunity for us to play against a team that, really, we haven’t had much luck against. We were a little but unfortunate in our league encounter, we certainly should have got a draw. In the cup game they hit us near the end but we showed a bit of character and came back. Hopefully in this replay we can get the result.

“In recent years they’ve built a squad of players where whoever comes into the side knows what they’re doing. They have got stability about the place. That’s something you want at a football club and they’ve got it. I know they’ve changed managers but they’ve done it in such a way that there has been continuity on the field and a degree of success. They find themselves in a lofty position in the league and they’ve earned that.”

On the weather:

“What’s a bit of cold? It’s nothing. There are a lot worse things going on in the world than a wee bit of snow. For me, it just makes for a good atmosphere and it sorts the men from the boys!”

www.qpr.co.uk

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 4/5, QPR Win: 10/3, Draw: 13/5.

First Goalscorer

Lukaku 9/2, Odemwingie 6/1, Rosenberg 7/1, Cisse 7/1, Fortune 8/1, Campbell 8/1, Mackie 8/1, Taarabt 8/1, Morrison 9/1, Bothroyd 10/1, Brunt 12/1, Dorrans 14/1, El Ghanassy 14/1, Thomas 14/1, Thorne 16/1, Granero 16/1, Wright-Phillips 16/1, Mbia 18/1, Ji-Sung 18/1.

REFEREE

Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire) - Has refereed one Albion game so far this season, the 2-1 win at home to Norwich City in December. Atkinson took charge of two Albion games last season - The 3-0 defeat at Swansea City in September and the 1-1 draw at QPR in December.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets will remain on general sale until the 8pm kick-off.

Prices in all areas of the ground have been reduced to £15 adults, £10 seniors (over 60s)/students/under 21s, and £5 under 17s (no concessionary tickets are available in the West Stand).

Tickets will be on sale on the day of the game from the East Stand box office from 9am while cash-only ticket kiosks positioned outside the ground will be in operation from 6.30pm.

WEATHER FORECAST

Partly cloudy but dry and very cold, -3°C

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST FA CUP MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS

Albion 3-2 Queens Park Rangers
FA Cup 3rd Round
Saturday 8th January 1983, 3:00pm

Albion: Paul Barron, Clive Whitehead, Derek Statham, Romeo Zondervan, John Wile, Alistair Robertson, Martin Jol, Martyn Bennett, Cyrille Regis, Gary Owen, Peter Eastoe. Sub. Nicky Cross

Goalscorers: Owen 2 (1 pen), Eastoe

Queens Park Rangers: Graham Benstead, Warren Neill, Ian Dawes, Glenn Roeder, Bob Hazell (Burke), Terry Fenwick, Gary Micklewhite, Tony Sealy, Clive Allen, Mike Flanagan, Gary Waddock. Sub. Steve Burke

Goalscorers: Fenwick (pen), Micklewhite

Attendance: 16,528

Referee: Peter Willis (County Durham)

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 has just returned from a loan spell 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.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS QUEENS PARK RANGERS