Saturday 6th March 2010
The Coca Cola Championship
Loftus Road Stadium
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Kick-off: 15:00
Queens Park Rangers (20th) V West Bromwich Albion (2nd)
By The Godfather

Saturday afternoon marks the beginning of a new era for Queens Park Rangers FC. Changes have now been implemented at both a boardroom and managerial level, and with the experienced Neil Warnock in charge, I am confident that the Super Hoops will soon pull away from the relegation zone. However, Warnock's first game will not be an easy one, with the Rs facing automatic promotion contenders, West Brom, at Loftus Road.

West Bromwich Albion

Manager: Roberto Di Matteo

Season 2008-09 finish: 20th place (Premier League).

West Brom are often described as a team being too good for the Championship, but not quite strong enough for the Premiership. Their record over the last decade supports this view. The Baggies have achieved promotion to the top division three times in the last ten years, but have avoided relegation only once.

However, supporters of the club will be feeling relatively confident of an immediate return to the Premiership. Di Matteo's men currently lie in 2nd place, but face strong competition from Nottingham Forest, who are only two points behind. Indeed, the Baggies will be viewing Saturday's encounter as a must-win fixture in the chase for promotion.

Men to watch

It will certainly be interesting to see how central midfielder, Ben Watson, who spent a disappointing loan period at Queens Park Rangers earlier in the season, fares on Saturday afternoon. The 24 year-old has been unable to break into the first team at Wigan Athletic, and has joined West Brom on loan for the rest of the season.

Di Matteo's star player is winger, Chris Brunt, who has netted nine goals so far this season. The 25 year-old offers the team pace, skill and creativity in midfield. The Northern Irish international joined the Baggies in 2007 after a successful three-year spell with Sheffield Wednesday. He has since made 96 starts for West Brom.

West Brom's main attacking threat is Simon Cox, who was repeatedly linked with a move to Queens Park Rangers last summer. The 22 year-old first made his name with Swindon Town, where he scored 29 league goals last season. This impressive record earned him a £1.5 million transfer to the Hawthorns in July. He has since netted eight times for the club.

In central midfield, Graham Dorrans could be handed a place in the starting line-up. The 22 year-old, who can also play as a striker, joined the Baggies from Livingston for £200,000. His impressive performances have earned him three call-ups to the Scottish national team. He has been one of the Baggies' star performers this season, having scored a total 13 goals in all competitions.

Youssuf Mulumbu could play alongside Dorrans in central midfield. The former Paris St Germain man signed for West Brom in early 2009 and has since made 17 starts. The 23 year-old has earned himself 8 call-ups to the DR Congo team, but recently decided to quit international football. Mulumbu will provide the likes of Leigertwood and Faurlin with a stern test.

In the heart of defence, Abdoulaye Meite is likely to play. The 29 year-old signed for West Brom in a £2 million deal in 2008. Unfortunately, he spent much of last season out injured, but in this campaign has established himself as a first team regular. The Ivory Coast international lists Red Star 93, Marseille and Bolton Wanderers among his former clubs.

In goal, Scott Carson could retain his place. Perhaps he is best known for his dreadful performance for England in that all-important European Qualifier against Croatia, during which he parried the ball into his own net. The 24 year-old is a former Liverpool goalkeeper, having also enjoyed loan spells with Charlton and Aston Villa. He joined West Brom in 2008 and has since made 64 appearances for the club.

Referee

In his first game in charge, Neil Warnock, a man renowned for his hatred of referees, will have to watch the incompetent Mr Attwell officiate on Saturday. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr Attwell, here are a few examples of his bizarre decision-making:

1. In a match between Watford and Reading, he awarded a goal to the away team despite the ball going nowhere near the net. This was a decision that surprised both sets of players.
2. He refereed last season's Derby V Forest match, an encounter between two bitter rivals. After harshly sending off a Forest player for a sliding tackle, he incorrectly disallowed two County goals during stoppage time.
3. During a QPR V Birmingham match, he harshly sent off Mikele Leigertwood for a tackle that deserved a yellow card at most.

Previous Match

December 2009 - Queens Park Rangers threw away a two-goal advantage, allowing high-flying West Brom to salvage a point at the Hawthorns. Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham took charge of this fixture after the sacking of Jim Magilton for an alleged headbutt on Akos Buzsaky. The Rs took a shock lead when, in the 56th minute, Olsson headed into his own net. They then doubled their advantage in the 62nd minute, with Kaspars Gorkss heading home from close range. However, Jerome Thomas pulled one back in the 67th minute with a swivelling shot, before Cox snatched a last minute equaliser in the 94th minute. Typical QPR!

QPR Caretaker Manager, Steve Gallen: "I don't know what is going to happen. I just got told last week and it feels like the longest week ever. I don't know if I'm charge for Saturday's game (at home to Sheffield United). I don't know when I'll find out. I saw something yesterday and it said the club are meeting with Jim and something will be decided over the next 48 hours. I welcome that, definitely. I'm sure people on the outside at QPR want to see things resolved quickly - we all do on the inside. I also saw some things during the week about chaos at QPR - that's absolute nonsense. I've not seen any chaos at the training ground."

West Brom 2-2 Queens Park Rangers

QPR Team News

Tamas Priskin was left out of the side against Middlesbrough and could return on Saturday. Matthew Connolly picked up a knock against Doncaster and also missed the Boro' match: whether he will be fit in time for the WBA game is unclear. Meanwhile, Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands remain long-term absentees.

Prediction

As I have mentioned before in my articles, Neil Warnock is a man who has made a trademark out of a very aggressive, albeit effective, style of play. Do not expect to see attractive, passing patterns from the Super Hoops on Saturday afternoon. I expect Rangers will look to restrict WBA, preventing their more skilful players from influencing proceedings and perhaps hitting them on the counter-attack. I do think that Rangers will get something out of this game: the players will surely be eager to impress the new manager. I'll go for a draw.

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 West Brom