West London Derby : A 3 Point Preview of Qpr vs Chelsea

Queens Park Rangers Vs ChelseaFC

Venue: Loftus Road, London

Time : 15:00 B.S.T (19:30 I.S.T)

Date: September 15, 2012, Saturday

Chelsea Last 5 games(all comps.): LWWWL

QPR Last 5 Games(all comps.): LWDLL

Preview :

Fierce Rivals : The West London Derbies between the two clubs have always been a stormy affair; not only between the players but also heated arguments and chants are always exchanged between the fans. Now the row between Chelsea captain John Terry and Q.P.R’s Anton Ferdinand in recent times will only intensify the Match.
Injury Concerns : Both Terry and Ferdinand are recovering from injuries with Terry reportedly winning his battle with an ankle injury sustained on England duty while Ferdinand is also poised to start after recovering well from his shoulder injury. So this means the defenders are on course to meet for the first time since the Chelsea captain’s race trial in July.
Handshake? : This also means that the most controversial and talked about point before the match will be revolving around the Pre match Handshake. Consequently, there has been speculation as to whether Ferdinand would shake some of his Chelsea counterparts’ hands – a tradition that was abandoned in advance of the previous two encounters between the clubs.

Who are the First Choice XI?? : Mark Hughes went on a shopping spree this summer thanks to his owners and bought no less than 11 players. Despite that QPR have only 1 point from their 3 games and are in a familiar position in the league table in 19th. He quickly needs to sort out his starting XI and distinguish them from the substitutes.

Key Players : QPR will heavily depend on Park Ji Sung and Granerio’s performances if they are to get any points from the game as these two veterans showed glimpses of their potential in the previous games.

Weak Defence : Ferdinand and Nelson cannot handle counter attacks and pace from opposition strikers while Fabio and Bosingwa tend to go front at ease and neglect defending.

No scope for Complacency : The European Champions were handled a “reality check” by Athletico Madrid as tweeted by Ashley Cole. It’s a good thing for confidence to run high in the camp but it could be equally dangerous if it becomes complacency and over confidence. So the Blues must keep in mind the Super Cup result and give their best if they are to win against their fierce rivals.

Torres still uncomfortable : Though he scored 2 goals in 3 games for Chelsea in the league, Torres missed a lot more chances than that. Also his positioning and movement have been questioned. It’s high time he pulled up his socks as his future at Chelsea will be at stake because there are rumors that Falcao to Chelsea in this winter will be likely.

Midfield : Hazard has been truly inspirational so far this season and his combination with Lampard and Mata can be compared to any other 3 midfielders in the world. Their form is again set to determine the outcome of the game.

Prediction : Q.P.R 0-3 Chelsea