ON SUNDAY QPR make the short trip to North London to take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
Andre Villas-Boas’s side will be buoyed by their last Premier League outing against Reading, which produced a first win of the campaign.
Jermain Defoe netted a brace while Gareth Bale was also on target in a convincing 3-1 victory at the Madejski Stadium.
R’s boss Mark Hughes may be forced to shuffle his pack for this fixture owing to injuries sustained in our derby draw with Chelsea at Loftus Road last weekend.
Defenders Fabio da Silva and Anton Ferdinand have both been ruled out for a fortnight after suffering hamstring injuries against the Blues, while striker Andy Johnson will be unavailable for the majority of the season owing to the knee injury he sustained in the same game.
Stephane Mbia could be in line for his R’s debut if he successfully overcomes the groin strain which prevented him from featuring against the Blues.
Rangers went down 3-1 at the Lane last season, but Hughes’s men will take confidence from their 1-0 win against Spurs at Loftus Road in April which ultimately played a crucial role in helping the club secure their Premier League status.
The history books are on the side of the hosts this weekend – but only just. Rangers have played Tottenham 44 times in the league, with the R’s being victorious on 13 occasions, while Spurs have won 17.
QPR’s last victory in N17 came in May 1994 when they ran out 2-1 winners. Trevor Sinclair bagged a brace while Teddy Sheringham was on target for the hosts.
The Numbers Game
*1091 – The year when Spurs first won the FA Cup
*1882 – The year Tottenham were founded
*8 – The number of times Spurs have won the FA Cup
*34 – The age of Lilywhites boss Andre Villas-Boas. He is the youngest manager in the Premier League
*3 – The number of goals striker Jermain Defoe has scored so far this season
*655 – Steve Perryman is the club’s record appearance holder with 655 outings for the club
*36,230 – The capacity of Tottenham’s White Hart Lane Stadium, where they have played their football since 1899
*20 – The number of appearances Spurs defender Kyle Walker made while on loan at QPR during our Championship-winning season of 2010/11
Match Odds with Bet Victor
Tottenham win: 9/20
Draw: 7/2
QPR win: 13/2
Pre-Match Talk
Rangers defender Nedum Onuoha: “It’s another chance to try to get three points.
“You should go in and respect your opponents but never go any further than that.
“If you give them too much respect and just stand off them then that’s when you can see how good a team they are.”
Last Time Out
Premier League: QPR 1, Tottenham 0 – Saturday 21st April 2012
Scorers: QPR – Taarabt
Match Officials
Referee – P Dowd
Assistant – J Flynn
Assistant – L Betts
4th Official – M Jones
Premier League Fixtures (3pm unless stated)
Saturday 22nd September 2012
Swansea v Everton (12.45pm)
Chelsea v Stoke
Southampton v Aston Villa
West Brom v Reading
West Ham v Sunderland
Wigan v Fulham
Sunday 23rd September 2012
Liverpool v Man Utd (1.30pm)
Newcastle v Norwich
Man City v Arsenal (4pm)
Tottenham v QPR (4pm)
Next QPR fixture
Monday 1st October 2012 – QPR v West Ham United (8pm)