Saturday 15th January 2011
Npower Football League Championship
Turf Moor Stadium
Referee: M Jones
Burnley (10th) V Queens Park Rangers (1st)
By The Godfather

Over the last week or so, many supporters have expressed concern about the strength of QPR’s squad on the WATRB message board. The Rs have lost two of their key players, with Jamie Mackie suffering a horrific injury against Blackburn Rovers and Kyle Walker signing for Aston Villa on loan. In truth, the Rs need to secure two or three additions in certain areas if they are to maintain their league position. I expect Warnock will utilise the loan market during the remainder of the transfer window.

Saturday’s match, against managerless Burnley, will be a very difficult fixture. In the game at Loftus Road earlier in the campaign, the Rs struggled to break the Clarets down. Although I would happily take a point, I am sure Warnock will be keen to return to winning ways following disappointing results against Norwich, Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers.

Burnley

Caretaker Manager: Stuart Gray

Season 2009-10 finish: 18th position (Premiership)

The BBC understands that Burnley will name Bournemouth coach, Eddie Howe, as manager on Monday and that he will watch this encounter from the stands. Caretaker manager, Stuart Gray, will take charge of the team on Saturday, a side which, it is fair to say, has under-achieved so far this season. Many pundits named Burnley as one of the favourites to gain promotion, boasting arguably the strongest squad in the division. However, under the leadership of Brian Laws, the Clarets were simply too inconsistent. After falling out of the play-off places and suffering an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at home to Scunthorpe United, the Board sacked Laws – an understandable decision.

Burnley are only four points off the play-off places, with two games in hand over some of their rivals. Therefore, they are still in with a decent opportunity of returning to the Premiership. However, it is important that they pick up a decent result against Queens Park Rangers, otherwise they might just fall too far behind the likes of Watford, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United.

Men to watch

Chris Iwelumo is Burnley’s current top scorer, with ten goals to his name so far this season. The 32 year-old is often remembered for a terrible miss in a Scotland international match. However, there is no doubt that Iwelumo is a very effective striker at Championship level, always proving to be a thorn in opponents’ sides. The former Stoke, Colchester and Wolves man will pose an aerial threat on Saturday afternoon and must be marked closely.

Chris Eagles, who has been recently linked with a move to the Premiership, is also likely to retain his place. The 25 year-old is widely regarded as one of the best wingers outside of the top tier and has notched an impressive total of 8 goals this season. He began his career with Manchester United, spending most of his time with the club out on loan. In 2008, he joined the Clarets for an undisclosed fee and has since made nearly 100 appearances.

On the left flank, Brian Laws has the talented Ross Wallace at his disposal. He signed for Burnley during the summer from Preston, where he had enjoyed a successful one-year spell, providing many assists for the likes of Jon Parkin. The 25 year-old’s crosses are often of a very high standard and he could provide a stern test for the QPR back four on Saturday.

In the middle of the park, expect to see the experienced Dean Marney. The 26 year-old is best known for his spell with Hull City, during which he made 125 appearances, scoring 9 goals. The hard-working midfielder also played for QPR very briefly back in 2004, starting twice on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

At the back, Queens Park Rangers supporters will be familiar with Clarke Carlisle, a man who made 96 appearances for the club between 2000 and 2004. The 31 year-old left the Rs in 2004, joining Leeds United and subsequently moving to Watford. However, Carlisle has enjoyed his most successful spell with Burnley, making over 100 starts for the club and playing a crucial role in their recent success.

Previous Match

October 2010 (Extract from my match report) – “Queens Park Rangers were held to yet another draw by a very hard-working and physical Burnley team. The result was probably a fair one, although an incompetent refereeing performance did not help Warnock’s men. Taraabt’s wonder strike, which received only 20 seconds of coverage on the Football League Show, put the Rs into the lead, before Graham Alexander equalised just before half-time. In truth, Burnley enjoyed long spells of pressure, although Rangers started and finished the match strongly”.

Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Burnley

QPR Team News

Of course, Jamie Mackie suffered a double leg-break last Saturday against Blackburn Rovers and now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Matthew Connolly is available again after serving his two-match suspension. Martin Rowlands is unlikely to be involved after straining his thigh, but Lee Cook could be named on the substitutes’ bench. Patrick Agyemang and Peter Ramage remain long-term absentees.

Prediction

As already mentioned, this is going to be a very difficult fixture against a strong squad. I have no doubt that the Burnley players will be keen to impress their new manager in the stands. I am sure that they will be 'up' for this encounter. This has been a very bad week for QPR FC following Jamie Mackie's terrible injury and I just hope that Warnock has managed to maintain team morale. I am hoping for a draw and, providing that the Rs produce a similar performance to that of the Bristol City game, I think that they are more than capable of getting the result.

Burnley 0-0 Queens Park Rangers