WEST BROMWICH ALBION v QUEENS PARK
RANGERS
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 4th April 2015, 3:00pm The Hawthorns
MATCH
NOTES
The game will be the 44th league and cup meeting between the two clubs. Albion
currently lead the way in terms of victories with 18 compared to Rangers' 15.
Albion's last game on this date came in 2009 when
they suffered a 2-0 Premier League defeat at home to Stoke City. The club's last
win on April 4 came in 2004 when goals from Jason Koumas, Lloyd Dyer and Geoff
Horsfield gave promotion-chasing Albion a 3-2 win at Ipswich Town.
Rangers' last game on this date came in 2011 when
they recorded a 3-0 Championship win at home over Sheffield United.
Albion have lost just one of their last ten home
league matches against Rangers.
The R's
have lost nine of their last ten Premier League matches.
Fifteen of Saido Berahino's 18
goals for Albion this season have come at The Hawthorns.
Albion's last six games: Manchester City (A) 0-3;
Stoke City (H) 1-0;
Aston Villa (A, FAC) 0-2; Aston Villa (A) 1-2;
Southampton (H) 1-0;
Sunderland (A) 0-0.
Rangers' last six games: Everton (H) 1-2; Crystal
Palace (A) 1-3; Tottenham Hotspur (H) 1-2; Arsenal (H) 1-2; Hull City (A) 1-2;
Sunderland (A) 2-0.
TEAM
NEWS
Albion
Baggies' boss Tony Pulis is boosted by the return
of Chris Brunt and Claudio Yacob following suspension but will be without
defender Craig Dawson who is banned after being awarded the red card Gareth
McAuley wrongly received in the game at Manchester City a fortnight ago.
Pulis is also missing Ben Foster (knee) and Callum
McManaman (foot) for the Hawthorns' clash.
Queens Park Rangers
Mauro Zarate has returned to
parent club West Ham United for treatment on an injury whilst Richard Dunne,
Leroy Fer and Alejandro Faurlin remain out due to long-term injuries.
MATCH
ODDS
Result
Albion Win: 4/5, Queens Park Rangers Win: 9/2,
Draw: 21/10.
First Goalscorer Albion:
Ideye 4/1, Berahino 4/1, Anichebe 9/2, Nabi 6/1, Sessegnon 6/1, McManaman 7/1,
Gardner 15/2, Morrison 9/1, Brunt 11/1, McAuley 16/1, Fletcher 20/1, Lescott
20/1, Mulumbu 20/1, Baird 25/1, Yacob 25/1.
Queens Park Rangers: Austin 7/1, Zamora 9/1, Zarate
10/1, Phillips 11/1, Grego-Cox 11/1, Taarabt 12/1, Vargas 12/1, Kranjcar 14/1,
Hoilett 16/1, Barton 20/1, Wright-Phillips 20/1, Sandro 25/1, Caulker 28/1.
No Goalscorer: 9/1.
www.williamhill.com
REFEREE
Lee Probert (Wiltshire)
Probert will be taking charge of a game involving Albion or Queens Park Rangers
for the first time this season.
He last officiated an Albion game on the final day of the 2013/14 season - the
Baggies' 2-1 home defeat to Stoke City.
The Wiltshire official has issued 35 yellow cards and two red in the 11 games he
has officiated this season.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are currently on general
sale priced at £25 adults, £20 seniors (over 65s), £15 under-21s/students and
£10 under-17s.
WEATHER FORECAST
Thick cloud, 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 initial game, which took place at Loftus Road on November 6,
ended in a 2-0 win for the Baggies, Dave Walsh and Frank Hodgetts 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
with Billy Pointon netting 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
the goalscorers for Tony Mowbray's men.
The final game of that 2007/08
season took place at Loftus Road, the Baggies clinching the Championship title
with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Do-heon Kim and Chris Brunt.
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.
A full fixture history between the two teams can be found here
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
(Click on game to view)
Tuesday 15 January 2013 - Albion 0-1 Queens Park Rangers - FA Cup 3rd round replay - The Hawthorns
Saturday 5 January 2013 - Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Albion - FA Cup 3rd round -
Loftus Road
Sunday 4 May 2008 - Queens Park Rangers 0-2 Albion - League Championship - Loftus Road
Monday 28 August 2000 - Albion 2-1 Queens Park Rangers - League Division One - The Hawthorns
Saturday 3 April 1982 - Albion 0-1 Queens Park Rangers - FA Cup Semi-Final - Highbury
Saturday 4 March 1967 - Albion 2-3 Queens Park Rangers - League Cup Final - Wembley Stadium
LAST LEAGUE MEETING AT THE HAWTHORNS
Albion
3-2 Queens Park Rangers Barclays Premier
League Saturday 6th October 2012,
3:00pm
Albion: Foster; Tamas
(Jara Reyes 45), McAuley, Olsson, Popov; Yacob, Mulumbu; Gera, Morrison,
Odemwingie (Rosenberg 62); Long (Lukaku 62). Subs not used: L Daniels (gk),
Dorrans, Dawson, Fortune.
Goalscorers:
Morrison 5, Gera 22, Mulumbu
85
Booked:
Tamas 25 (persistent
fouling), Mulumbu 90+3 (time-wasting)
Queens Park Rangers:
Cesar; Bosingwa, Ferdinand,
Nelsen, Hill (Traore HT); Wright-Phillips (Mackie 59), Park, Mbia (Hoilett 70),
Granero; Taarabt; Zamora. Subs not used: Green (gk), Faurlin, Cisse,
Onuoha.
Goalscorers:
Taarabt 35, Granero 90+2
Booked:
Park 45+1 (foul), Mackie 89
(foul)
Attendance: 23,897
Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)
West Brom increased the pressure
on QPR boss Mark Hughes as a fifth defeat in seven games left the west London
team anchored at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League without a win.
Rangers have taken only two points out of a possible 21 and they were always
facing an uphill task after early goals from James Morrison and Zoltan Gera.
They showed signs of improvement after Adel Taarabt had reduced the arrears.
Youssouf Mulumbu made it 3-1 before an injury-time effort from Esteban Granero
again cut the deficit. QPR defender Anton Ferdinand was booed during the first
half by some Albion fans in his first appearance since the full report from the
Football Association into the John Terry case was published. Albion registered
their fourth home win, their best start to a top flight season in front of their
own fans since 1919. Steve Clarke's side should have wrapped up the game in the
opening half hour and could have doubled their two-goal advantage against a QPR
side carved open almost at will during that spell. Hughes' men struggled to deal
with the creativity of Morrison and the pace of Shane Long with Ferdinand and
Clint Hill in particular looking uncertain at the back. But Taarabt, in his
first start since the opening day of the season, dragged them back into the game
and he demanded close attention from the Baggies back four.
Albion's acting skipper Jonas
Olsson received a standing ovation from the home fans before kick-off after
signing a new four-year contract - and his side needed only four minutes to go
ahead. Baggies leading scorer Shane Long was too quick for Hill before
delivering an inviting right-wing cross. Morrison timed his run perfectly to get
behind Ferdinand and direct his header back across Julio Cesar into the corner
of the net. Albion looked sharp going forward and Long missed a golden chance to
double their lead in a lightning counter-attack. Peter Odemwingie picked out the
run of Morrison and his cross was perfectly weighted to find Long but from six
yards out he fired over the bar. QPR had no answer to West Brom's first touch
football and a shocking error by Ferdinand gifted them their second goal after
22 minutes. Once again Morrison supplied the ball into the danger area and
Ferdinand's attempted clearance fell straight to Zoltan Gera, who made no
mistake from 10 yards out. Albion right-back Gabriel Tamas was booked for
bringing down Taarabt before the QPR midfielder gave his side a lifeline with a
stunning finish after 35 minutes. Esteban Granero played the ball into the path
of Taarabt on the edge of the box and he brought it under control before
volleying past Ben Foster. But
Albion still threatened danger everytime they ventured forward and
it needed a fine save from Cesar to deny
Gera a second goal. Peter
Odemwingie's defence-splitting pass found the Hungarian international free
inside the box but Cesar managed to deflect his shot past the post. QPR skipper
Park Ji-sung was booked in first half injury-time for a lunge at Gera.
Both sides made a half-time
switch with Tamas and Hill replaced by Gonzalo Jara Reyes and Armand Traore
respectively. The visitors showed attacking intent at the start of the second
period and Foster held a low drive from the impressive Taarabt. Morrison had a
shot deflected wide but
Albion were guilty of sloppy play. It prompted Clarke to make a
double change with strikers Romelu Lukaku and Markus Rosenberg replacing Long
and Odemwingie. Granero had the chance to level matters but sliced his shot wide
after more good work by Taarabt. But Morrison almost capped another top
performance with a second goal as his 35-yard drive flashed inches wide. With
five minutes left Mulumbu made it 3-1 after exchanging passes with Jara Reyes -
but QPR showed plenty of spirit and Granero reduced the gap again in injury-time
with a cool finish.
Sporting
Life
CURRENT CONNECTIONS
None.
PAST
CONNECTIONS
Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for
both clubs are: Colin Anderson, Brett Angell, Reg Banks, Gary Bannister, Paul Barron, Steve Burke,
Lee Camp, Clive Clark, Danny Dichio, Jimmy Dugdale, Tommy Dutton, Lloyd Dyer, Peter Eastoe, Wayne
Fereday, Danny Gabbidon, Allan Glover, Adam Haywood, Peter Hucker, Rob
Hulse, Andy
King, Billy Law, Andy McDermott, Ishmael Miller, Paul Peschisolido, Nigel
Quashie, Steven Reid, Alf Ridyard, Georges Santos, Ernie Shepherd, Jay Simpson,
Scott Sinclair, Jerome Thomas, 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 |
21 |
11 |
6 |
4 |
38 |
23 |
Away |
20 |
7 |
4 |
9 |
24 |
24 |
Neutral |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
Total |
43 |
18 |
10 |
15 |
64 |
51 |
LAST
TEN MATCHES AGAINST QUEENS PARK RANGERS
DATE |
COMPETITION |
H/A |
F-A |
GOALSCORERS |
GATE |
Sat 20 Dec 2014 |
Premier League |
A |
2-3 |
Lescott, Varela - Austin 3 (1 pen) |
17,560 |
Tue 15 Jan 2013 |
FA Cup |
H |
0-1 |
Bothroyd |
11,184 |
Sat 05 Jan 2013 |
FA Cup |
A |
1-1 |
Long - Dyer |
8,984 |
Wed 26 Dec 2012 |
Premier League |
A |
2-1 |
Brunt, Green (og) - Cissé |
17,782 |
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 |
|