Wednesday’s remarkable turnaround against Liverpool has given QPR a shot in the arm as they prepare to face a distracted Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light.
Barclays Premier League >>> Saturday March 24, 2012 >>> Kick Off 3pm >>> Stadium of Light, Sunderland
The first stage on the route to crushing disappointment is hope. By half past nine on Wednesday night I think everybody had accepted QPR's fate this season, and some even decided to make an early exit. Then there came a tapping noise from inside the coffin.
They're bastards aren't they? Losing all those supposedly winnable games to the point where even the hardcore were probably thinking about picking and choosing their games and then suddenly reeling you back in just when all seemed lost. Why do we keep going to QPR? Because stuff like that happens all the time.
If Rangers are to survive this season then chances are the Liverpool miracle won't be the last time we see an unlikely chain of events play out this season. The much talked about fixture list from hell has Rangers facing nine more matches of which you'd expect them to win none given their form and performance level up to the seventy fifth minute on Wednesday night.
But form and momentum are valuable commodities in sport and it could be that Rangers are about to find both in just the very nick of time. Or it could be that Wednesday was a total one off. Whatever it was, what seemed like a crazy idea to travel 300 miles north to watch a football team lose in the coldest part of the country while London basks in the hottest day of the year now seems like a shrewd move. We're either at the first stage of an extraordinary comeback, or beginning a journey towards crushing disappointment.
The result and manner of it against Kenny Dalglish's shell shocked Scousers should not cloud any of the very troubling issues that were evident with our team on Wednesday. The midfield was a footballing wasteland, with only Samba Diakite emerging from the disaster zone with any credit at all. That set up, with that personnel, is a one way ticket to second tier football. It didn't work against Bolton, it didn't work against Liverpool, it won't work against Sunderland . Mark Hughes must desist with it at once.
It's a shame that our achievements during the week have quickly become fish and chip wrappings while the Never Ending Story that is Joey Barton persists. Assuming, like me, you care little for what he thinks and says let's leave it at this. If Joey Barton is picked to start tomorrow it sends out a message to Jamie Mackie, Akos Buzsaky, Tommy Smith and the rest of the squad that however you perform is irrelevant, you get into the team on your name. Short of dropping his shorts and shitting in the centre circle Barton could have done nothing else in that Liverpool game to be dropped. I'd pick Mackie right and Taarabt left with Diakite in the centre and then Buzsaky if feeling brave or Derry sitting very deep if not. If you like Mackie emerging from the bench and injecting himself into games later on then pick Buzsaky instead of Barton. Just don't pick Barton, you can't.
One truism we are seeing at Loftus Road is the idea that a team is as good as its strikers. However bad Rangers get, and they've been pretty bloody awful at times lately, that front two of Zamora and Cisse look dangerous whenever they're near the ball. QPR didn't get out of their own half for the first 15 minutes on Wednesday night but then in five minutes Cisse had taken two shots, one half an inch away from being the goal of the season, and Reina had clawed a deep cross off Zamora's head at the back post. We need to stay up to keep those two together for next season, among many other reasons. It's an epic partnership for a club like ours in the making.
And are we meeting Sunderland at just the right time? Martin O'Neill always starts well (he's never lost the first match in charge of any club) and his teams often fly out of the blocks before winding their form down two months too soon. They have key suspensions and injuries and an FA Cup quarter final replay to come during the week. They were insipid in defeat against our fellow strugglers Blackburn on Tuesday evening.
Agh, the fickleness of the average football fan. Avoid hope, it's the hope that kills you.
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Team News: QPR will be without Armand Traore who was injured in a challenge with Charlie Adam just before halftime on Wednesday night. He was replaced by Taye Taiwo who set up the equaliser for Djibril Cisse and is likely to be selected again from the start here. Clint Hill has travelled with the squad but the back complaint that ruled him out of the Liverpool game is likely to keep him sidelined again. Heidar Helguson and DJ Campbell remain absent, although the latter should be available for Arsenal next week. The big talking points are whether Jamie Mackie has done enough to earn a start, and whether Joey Barton has finally sinned enough to be dropped.
Sunderland have Stephane Sessegnon back from a three game picked up for his sending off in the Tyne-Wear derby match. Lee Cattermole still has a game to go though after he was sent off following the final whistle at St James' Park for abusing the match officials. John O'Shea has a hamstring injury and faces a late fitness test and Martin O'Neill must decide how much importance to place on this game with an FA Cup quarter final replay to come on Tuesday.
Elsewhere: The game of the weekend is first up, with Chelsea returning to form against Spurs who suddenly can't buy a win. That's the Saturday 12.45 game on Sky and the teams around and about them await the outcome with interest – Man City face Stoke at home on Saturday evening, Man Utd play at home to Fulham on Monday and I just cannot wait to see the visiting support numbers at that one. Arsenal look likely to continue their resurgence against the team that started it all off for them, Aston Villa return to the Emirates Stadium where they blew a 2-0 lead in the FA Cup in January and eventually lost 3-2.
Of course all QPR eyes are on the bottom of the table and there is another humdinger of a six pointer at the Reebok Stadium this week as Blackburn visit. Only Man Utd and Man City have taken more points from their last five matches than resurgent Rovers and a victory for Steve Kean's men here will move them eight points clear of Wanderers with eight games left to play. Nobody quite knows what mood Bolton will be in after the events of the last week but if they're to retain Premiership status this season they need to get their heads back on the job because following this match with Rovers they travel to Wolves next Saturday. Terry Connor's beleaguered side are at Norwich this weekend while Wigan go to Liverpool .
Newcastle can further their European hopes with a win at West Brom on Sunday, a happy hunting ground for plenty of other sides this season, while Swansea v Everton looks largely irrelevant with the Swans' target for the season achieved already and Everton eyeing up the FA Cup.
Referee: Rangers' last away win was at Stoke in November, so perhaps it's an omen that we face another team in red and white stripes this Saturday with the same referee that was in charge that day at the Britannia Stadium. Mike Jones from Cheshire has his second appointment of the season with QPR and Sunderland here, both won the previous ones away from home at Stoke and Bolton respectively. For a full case file click here.
Sunderland:Perhaps Sunderland used up all the new manager syndrome for the season when they appointed Martin O'Neill – two wins from 15 matches prior to his appointment has quickly turned into ten success from 20 games and just five defeats. They've therefore taken 26 points from 45 available under their new manager, in stark contrast to Mark Hughes at QPR who has won just eight from 27 since he arrived at Loftus Road . But O'Neill's teams are known for taking their foot off the gas towards the end of seasons and Sunderland have lost three of their last five games, afflicted by suspensions to key players and distracted by prolonged participation in the FA Cup. The absence of Stephane Sessegnon has been keenly felt, with just four shots on target registered in the three matches of his ban. That all said, only Arsenal have won here in O'Neill's nine home matches so far, and only Everton and Middlesbrough have got draws. At home they've conceded just four times in nine matches. Sunderland like playing QPR as well – four straight wins, no defeats in nine and at least two goals scored in each of the last six meetings.
QPR: Having won three of their first six away matches this season Rangers have only picked up two points on the road from a possible 24 since – two draws from eight matches. Wednesday night's win was just their second maximum point haul in 17 matches and they haven't kept a clean sheet for 20 games. Sunderland's excellent record against QPR may be countered somewhat by Mark Hughes' stats against them – eight wins, one draw and no defeats during his time with Blackburn, Man City and Fulham.
Betting: Professional odds compiler Owen Goulding says…
Rangers head up north for what on paper looks a very difficult match, but maybe not as difficult as would of been a few weeks ago. As an odds compiler, I look at as many determining factors before arriving at a price, and two points stick out like sore thumbs here. Firstly the confidence that the Hoops will have gained from the 13 minute turnaround the other night cannot be under-estimated. But the second and in my opinion more important factor, is that Sunderland have their season defining game three days later. The Premier League is now just a case of seeing the season out for the Mackems, but they do have an excellent chance of returning to Wembley by beating Everton on Tuesday. Martin O'Neill will be making all the right noises, and is probably the best man-motivator in the league, but even taking this into account, there should definitely be a case of one team wanting this one much more than the other.
From QPR's point of view, a lot of us will be looking on with great interest as to the starting line up. Will Barton start? I expect he will. He has been poor for most of the season, but if there is one team that I would expect him to be up for a game against, it's Sunderland . On the flip side of performance levels is Djibril Cisse. The Frenchman has looked excellent and scored against his old club the other night. I fancy him to keep this trend up and put one past another of his old clubs on Saturday.
Bet of Weekend, Cisse to score anytime at 5/2 with SportingBet.
Prediction: My call of a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool looked absolutely spot on until the final quarter of an hour. I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those meddling substitutes. I'm going for much the same again here, a 2-1 defeat and After the Lord Mayor's Show sort of an afternoon brightened only by a goal for Djibril Cisse.
Sunderland to win 2-1, best priced 8/1 with Ladbrokes. Cisse to score anytime best price 5/2 with SportingBet.
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