Saturday 27th November 2010
Loftus Road Stadium
Npower Football League Championship
Referee: Kevin Friend
Kick-off: 15:00
Queens Park Rangers (1st) V Cardiff City (2nd)
By The Godfather

In the biggest game of the campaign so far, Queens Park Rangers face fellow automatic promotion candidates and old rivals, Cardiff City, at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon. A victory for the visitors would propel them back to the top of the Championship, whilst three points for the Rs would extend their lead at the summit to five points. This promises to be a fascinating encounter between two teams that boast some of the best talent in the division.

Cardiff City

Manager: Dave Jones

Season 2009-10 finish: 4th position

Despite their financial problems during the summer, Cardiff City are strong contenders for automatic promotion this season, with probably the strongest forward line in the division. The acquisition of Craig Bellamy, undoubtedly a Premiership class striker, from Manchester City on loan has enhanced their promotion credentials. Michael Chopra and Jay Bothroyd, meanwhile, are also producing excellent performances, with the latter being called up to the England squad for the recent friendly match against France.

However, a recent dip in form will have worried manager, Dave Jones. He is under pressure to achieve promotion this campaign, having lost in the Play-Off Final against Blackpool last season. An embarrassing performance against Swansea a few weeks ago resulted in a 1-0 defeat and last Saturday they lost 2-0 to Billy Davies’ Nottingham Forest side. Supporters will be expecting a drastic improvement for Saturday’s fixture.

Men to watch

1. Cardiff City’s most in-form striker is probably Jay Bothroyd, who is currently the Championship’s top scorer, with ten goals to his name so far this season. Since joining the Bluebirds in 2008, Bothroyd has enjoyed a lot of success, providing a strong aerial threat. His impressive performances this season earned him a call-up to the England squad against France.

2. Of course, Dave Jones also has the talented Craig Bellamy at his disposal. The 31 year-old joined Cardiff on loan from Manchester City during the summer and has since impressed the supporters with his performances. Bellamy has enjoyed successful spells with a number of clubs, including Norwich City, Newcastle United, Celtic and Blackburn. However, a move to Liverpool in 2006 proved to be the wrong decision and the Welsh international signed for West Ham a year later. After scoring 7 goals at Upton Park, Manchester City secured his services in 2009 and last season he netted 13 times in a blue shirt. With the Premiership’s introduction of the 25-man squad rule, Bellamy was loaned out to the Bluebirds.

3. In addition, Michael Chopra is likely to retain his position in the starting line-up. Chopra is a player I dislike with a passion, but there is no doubt that he is a very talented striker at Championship level. He is currently enjoying his second spell with Cardiff, having previously notched 22 goals in 42 appearances in the 2006-07 campaign. Since rejoining the Bluebirds, he has scored 20 times in 42 starts. The 26 year-old also lists Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Barnsley and Sunderland among his former clubs.

4. Peter Whittingham is another excellent player, possibly being one of the best wingers in the division. Last season, he netted an impressive total of 20 goals in 41 appearances, earning him a place in the Championship Team of the Year.

Previous Match

April 2010 (extract from my match report): “In Neil Warnock's post-match interview, he stated that "we need strikers". He has hit the nail on the head. Once again, it was a lack of firepower up front that cost Rangers, despite clearly being the better side on the day. Cardiff, who have several quality attackers at their disposal, got the winner against the run of play, making the defeat even more difficult to take.

In truth, the Rs never really looked like scoring. A lack of physical presence up front meant that the Super Hoops often tried to pass the ball into the net, a tactic that did not reap much success. What certainly didn't help were two abysmal performances from Tamas Priskin and Hogan Ephraim, both of whom contributed very little to proceedings. Of course, there is a difference between the two: the latter works hard but rarely beats his man or produces a decent cross, whilst the former simply stands still.

It was a real shame, as this was, overall, a promising performance from Queens Park Rangers. With the exception of the goal, the defence seemed very robust, with Peter Ramage fitting into the centre-back position effectively. Tosic and Leigertwood looked solid enough, whilst Buzsaky and Faurlin competed bravely in the middle of the park.”

Queens Park Rangers 0-1 Cardiff City

QPR Team News

Bradley Orr, Shaun Derry and Tommy Smith are all back in contention for starting places after missing the previous game. Akos Buzsaky has resumed training following his injury, whilst Lee Cook and Peter Ramage remain long-term absentees.

Prediction

There is a lot of history between these two sides. I wasn't surprised to hear that tickets have sold out for this match - I'm sure there will be an electric atmosphere on Saturday afternoon. I actually think that the two sides will cancel each other out. Obviously the Rs will need to keep the Cardiff frontline quiet, but I am going to predict a 1-1 draw.

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Cardiff City