Saturday 15th August 2009
Coca-Cola Championship
Home Park Stadium
Referee: R East
Kick-off: 15:00
Plymouth Argyle (13th) V Queens Park Rangers (14th)
By The Godfather

Queens Park Rangers travel to Home Park just days after thrashing Plymouth’s local rivals, Exeter City, by five goals to nil. Not only was it nice to see Routledge net a wonderful hat-trick, it was also pleasing to see new striker, Allesandro Pellicori, get his Rs career off to a good start with a debut goal. Although some would argue that it was a mere “tap-in”, the Italian was in the right place at the right time and I do hope that this gives him the confidence to score goals in the Championship.

Plymouth Argyle

After narrowly avoiding relegation last time round, many pundits are expecting a difficult 2009/10 campaign for Plymouth Argyle. It is important that the team get the season off to a decent start and put distance between themselves and the drop zone.

Manager, Paul Sturrock, has made four additions to the squad during the summer, the most interesting of which looks to be Bradley Wright-Phillips from Southampton. Once touted as a hot prospect for the future by Saints fans, his career took a nosedive after he was accused of stealing money and mobile phones from a bar in Southsea. To the despair of the Plymouth supporters, Wright-Phillips picked up a serious knee injury in a friendly game, which could keep him out for the first two months of the season.

In fairness, the Pilgrims got their Championship season off to a reasonable start, picking up a well-deserved point at Crystal Palace. However, on Tuesday night, Argyle suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Gillingham in the Carling Cup. Perhaps team morale will be low – let us hope that Queens Park Rangers capitalise upon this.

Men to watch

With Wright-Phillips out injured, Argyle will be relying on Rory Fallon to produce the goals needed to avoid a relegation battle. Once linked with Queens Park Rangers, the 27 year-old will pose a threat in the air on Saturday afternoon. He lists Barnsley, Swindon and Swansea among his former clubs.

Steve Maclean could partner Fallon up front. The 26 year-old first made a name for himself at Sheffield Wednesday in 2004/05, playing an important part in the Owls’ return to the Championship, netting 20 goals. The striker left Hillsborough in 2007 and joined Cardiff City but he found himself confined to the substitutes’ bench. He signed for the Pilgrims during January 2008 but has since struggled to find his goalscoring form.

In addition, Sturrock could select striker, Cillian Sheridan, in his starting line-up. The 20 year-old joined the club today (Thursday) on a six-month loan deal from Celtic.

Sturrock also secured the services of central midfielder, Carl Fletcher, during the summer. The Welsh international was immediately appointed as club captain and will add leadership qualities to the team. Having played for West Ham, Watford, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, the 29 year-old could be one to watch on Saturday afternoon.

Plymouth Argyle also have midfielder, Simon Walton, who made five appearances for Queens Park Rangers between 2007 and 2008. Walton, of course, broke his leg during a pre-season friendly against Fulham and never managed to hold down a regular place in the Rs starting line-up. The 21 year-old signed for the Pilgrims in August 2008 but has since fallen out of favour with manager, Paul Sturrock. Another former Ranger is Chris Barker, who joined Argyle last year. The left-back, who was criticised for his lack of pace at Loftus Road, has missed the first two matches of the campaign. Whether he will start on Saturday is unclear.

At the back, Plymouth have Hungarian international defender, Krisztian Timar. The 29 year-old is a very talented individual whose impressive performances earned him last season’s Player of the Year title. Having scored against Crystal Palace last weekend, Timar will be very confident about Saturday’s encounter. Expect him to provide a stern test for the Rangers forwards.

In goal, Frenchman, Romain Larrieu, will probably keep his place. The 32 year-old has made nearly 250 appearances for the Pilgrims since signing for them in 2000.

Previous matches

December 2008 – A late equaliser from Steve Maclean earned Plymouth a draw against Queens Park Rangers at Home Park. Against the run of play, Heidar Helguson took the lead for the Rs from Martin Rowlands’ cross. After QPR had had a goal controversially disallowed for offside, Steve Maclean slotted home in the 83rd minute to gain his side a point.

QPR Manager, Paulo Sousa: "Helguson took his goal well and he will grow in confidence with that goal. That is the main thing for me - the players and the team grow in confidence and show consistency because in this league you have to be consistent. With consistency comes confidence and I thought we looked more confident today."

Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Queens Park Rangers

April 2009 – In a truly dire encounter at Loftus Road, Plymouth Argyle gained an important point in their relegation battle. The game produced very few opportunities, the best of which fell to the Pilgrims when Ashley Barnes missed the target from six yards. Arguably the most dull match of the season.

QPR Caretaker Manager, Gareth Ainsworth: "Defensively we have been rock solid but it would have been nice to score more goals this season. It's something we maybe need to look at for next season, although not simply in terms of personnel. The players we have here are capable of better. The real positive for us was Patrick Agyemang returning. It was a good workout and I think he did well."

Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Plymouth Argyle

Form

Queens Park Rangers drew their first match against Blackpool, despite creating so many clear-cut chances. Magilton’s side then beat Exeter City 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Routledge and goals from Pellicori and Ephraim.

Plymouth Argyle, as already mentioned, drew with Crystal Palace on the first day of the season and were then knocked out of the Carling Cup by Gillingham from League One.

Team News

There is no indication on the official website of whether Adel Taraabt and Heidar Helguson will be available for Saturday’s match after missing the Exeter game through international duty. Lee Cook will definitely not play due to his knee injury. Martin Rowlands and Alejandro Faurlin could be involved.

Prediction

Last season, Queens Park Rangers’ away record was very poor indeed, only winning three of twenty-three matches. This is something that Magilton has got to improve upon if he wants his side to challenge for a play-off place. It is therefore very important that the Rs pick up a decent result from this match. A lot depends on whether QPR are able to convert the opportunities they make – the Rs cannot afford to squander chances like they did against Blackpool. Plymouth could be vulnerable after crashing out of the Carling Cup and I’ve got a feeling that QPR will come out on top.

Plymouth 0-1 Queens Park Rangers