Hoop Dreams - QPR FC

Well-known football supporter Billy Shakespeare would have had a field day with QPR. The calamities on the pitch, the intrigue behind the scenes, the sense of impending tragedy; he could have wrote six or seven decent plays based on the last two seasons alone. But the man who penned 'Am I so round with you as you with me, that like a football you do spurn me thus?' (that one is real), would have struggled for decent storylines from the last few QPR matches.

Five games without a win sounds miserable but QPR have been far from poor ever since Neil Warnock took over as manager. In fact, for large spells of their last three games, they've been the better team. But for a good story, sooner or later you need a win and QPR desperately need to take something from their next two games on the bounce, against Sheffield Wednesday today and then Leicester on Monday.

I wasn't able to write anything on the Preston game and it would seem a bit redundant to go into it now. Suffice to say, Adel Taarabt had a commanding performance for the R's and showed why patience is needed when what he is trying to achieve doesn't always pay off. Rumours have started up about a potential £4.5 million price tag on his head should QPR want to make his loan move permanent. If he is happy to be at the club, committed to the cause and employed in the right way on the pitch, he could be well worth that fee.

The club will look to him again today for inspiration in a game which would appear to be the easier of the two Easter fixtures. Were it not for Crystal Palace's ten-point deduction, the Owls would be prime relegation candidates and could still find themselves in the bottom three before the season's end.

But only three points separate them from QPR. Should Wednesday get the result today, the R's would be nervously contemplating a late season survival act from Palace. Warnock's blistering start seemed to have dispelled any fears about going down but five games without a win, despite the battling performances, is enough to awaken a few jitters again.

QPR Team News

Jay Simpson is still far from certain to be in QPR's starting line-up and though Tamas Priskin admirably stuck to his guns and got his first Rs goal against Preston, it's hard to not see some correlation between Simpson's absence from the side and the inability to find a win. He missed the Swansea game, came off earlier then expected against Derby and sat it out against Preston as well as he struggles with a hamstring injury. The manager may be looking to field him in at least one game over Easter though and could well rest him today and hope he can make a big impact for Monday's trip to Leicester.

Matt Connolly is the other likely absentee, potentially for both games. The back four against Preston was Ramage, Gorkss, Stewart and Hill and I'd be surprised to see any change from that this afternoon. Dusko Tosic could be denied another opportunity to make his debut for the club since his loan move from Portsmouth.

Sheff Wed Team News

Wednesday should be able to call on winger Jermaine Johnson and defender Lewis Buxton as they attempt to lift themselves away from the bottom three. Johnson has been out for the last three games whereas Buxton has been missing since January.

Form

As mentioned above, in terms of performances and sheer 'hardness-to-beat' (I think that's a word but to return to Shakespeare he was always making them up so this is my gift to the English language), QPR have been greatly improved for some time but there is still the nagging doubt over the lack of wins. It's only three so far this year, though all have been at home which must give the side some confidence going into this encounter.

The recent Derby game can be taken as a good marker for this clash - the R's were rightly judged the favourites going into that game and on the evidence of their blistering start, they were more than capable of beating the Rams. But as the season nears crunch time, even supposed formalities become far more prickly as the collective efforts of sides at both ends of the table kick up a gear. Could the same be true of Wednesday?

Their recent record suggests so and another draw could be on the cards. They're unbeaten in five (though with just one win) and have drawn their last three away games. That run has come against testing opposition as well. After kicking off March with an important home win over Leicester City, they went on to draw at Swansea City and Preston, before a scoreless home match against Derby and a home win over Watford. After shipping five goals at Reading, they also seem to have corrected some of their defensive frailties with the same amount conceded over the last seven games.

Prediction

Taking the Easter fixtures as a whole, QPR would surely be happy with a return of four points from both games, especially as the the team has so little recovery time following today. That would put them on 51 points, with another five games in which to get a further win (or even draw) to secure their Championship future (if that points total is even necessary).

Perhaps that is to consider their ambitions in too negative a light though. Perhaps their sights are firmly set on maximum points from both games and a respectable mid-table finish after that.

It's hard to predict what they'll get from both games, especially as this clutch of fixtures is bound to throw up some surprising results but to take today's game in isolation, I believe they'll rid themselves of the laziness which turned three points against Derby into one and finally give their manager the next win he has been craving.

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