Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

After a relentless start to the New Year, in which managers and players have come and gone, QPR would have been looking forward to a nice easy fixture to allow Mick Harford time to settle his ever-changing squad and build his own credentials to be their permanent manager.

Instead, they travel to one of the form teams in England, Nottingham Forest.Whereas QPR's hopes of reaching the play-offs can barely be taken as credible right now, Forest flourished at the tail end of last year and could feasibly push one of Newcastle or West Brom out of the automatic promotion spots. On top of that, QPR have never won at the City Ground.

Not the game they would have desperately craved, then.

Forest Team News

Forest have relatively few concerns going into this game with the only notable absentee being Nickey Shorey. The left-back, on loan from Aston Villa, is serving a one-match ban, so James Perch, who deputised for Shorey in Forest's recent Cup games, is likely to start.

Expect both former Hoops players, keeper Lee Camp and striker Dexter Blackstock, in the starting eleven as well.

QPR Team News

QPR's team sheet will look slightly different from that submitted for their last game against Blackpool, largely due to two additions and two departures in the space of four days.

Friday's loan signing from West Ham, Nigel Quashie, who has played for both tonight's teams previously, is likely to be moved straight into the centre of QPR's midfield and similarly, Matt Hill, another loan addition, this time from Wolves, will also start at left-back.

There will be no Wayne Routledge or Patrick Agyemang though, after both left the club in the past two days. Agyemang's move is a loan until the end of the season, but the player has already indicated that he would not be averse to making the deal permanent if things work out with Bristol City.

Routledge on the other hand, who was strongly rumoured to be bound for Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough in this transfer window, instead upped sticks for the Championship leaders Newcastle today.

Jay Simpson will surely be brought back into the team tonight in Agyemang's place, possibly with close attacking support from Adel Taarabt. Promisingly for the Hoops, Lee Cook could make a return to the QPR bench as well after his long lay-off with a knee injury.

Form

Truly polar opposites.

Forest's form is startling, particularly for the Championship in which games are so frequent and resources are often scarce. They haven't lost in the league since September 19 and have won five consecutive home games.

Their success is built on a tight defence - in the month of December they conceded just one goal in six games - which is well marshalled by former Hoop Lee Camp (pictured below).  Along the way they have beaten both Newcastle and West Brom as well and are genuine contenders to go straight up to the Premiership, a development which their manager, Billy Davies, hints he is more than apprehensive about.


All QPR eyes will undoubtedly be on Lee Camp and Dexter Blackstock, who both have points to prove to the club which deemed them surplus to requirements. Camp is always a bundle of energy and is in fantastic form himself whilst Blackstock has quickly settled at his new club and looks set to hit his usual 15 or even 20-goal tally this season.

Another player that QPR's defence will be keeping an eye on is Radoslaw Majewski, who can be relied on to conjure a moment of magic should the game be a tight affair

Added to that, QPR have an abysmal record at the City Ground, losing 13 and drawing 10 of the last 23 encounters. Their own form is desperate to poor, with two points from a possible 15 away since beating Sheffield Wednesday on the road.

Prediction

So when all is said and done, against all compelling evidence, blah, blah, I pick QPR to get a result. Not a resounding win though, not a win of any kind, which would truly put the cat amongst the pigeons and would be a credit to the team considering the events of the last month. I think that is beyond the realms of likely, but a draw shouldn't be considered impossible and I am sure Forest will be taking the threat posed by QPR seriosuly.

How quickly the two new additions adapt could be key, especially as both have little playing time under their belts for their respective home clubs.

Likewise, any salvation job Mick Harford has been able to do on team spirit will also be vital. If he is unable to bond an increasingly disparate set of players and if they enter this in a lackadaisical fashion, they could easily be torn asunder. But if they look at it as another opportunity to settle some of the laughs thrown at QPR since Paul Hart's departure and as a continuation of the fine, if less than brilliant work against Blackpool, then a share of the spoils is possible.

SCORE DRAW