English Premier
2011-09-25 - QPR vs Aston Villa
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Sunday 25 September 2011 - Kickoff 4pm
This game is live on TV
QPR
The new signings have made an impact at Loftus Road, although some of the media impacts of Joey Barton are probably less wanted than the impact of picking up 4 points in 2 games has been. Neil Warnock looks a much happier manager since Tony Fernandes took over ownership of QPR and now survival has to be the minimum requirement.
QPR moved up to 9th in the table after an impressive win at Molineaux last weekend when they thumped Wolves 0-3 and also put in an excellent performance. They have now picked up 7 points from their opening 5 games of the season, but they will be looking to play better at Loftus Road where they are 0-1-1, failing to score in either game and conceding 4.
A brighter note for the Rangers fans is the fact they have kept back to back clean sheets in the Premier League and have had a little more time to prepare for this game after exiting the Carling Cup in the 2nd Round. QPR have failed to score at home in 3 games in all competitions this season and they have failed to win in 6 games since the end of last season.
Bradley Orr should be available but Danny Gabbidon is a doubt and will need a late fitness test. Rob Hulse is another player expected back from injury, but this game looks to be a little early for him.
Aston Villa
Alex McLeish and the senior Aston Villa players had a meeting immediately following their home loss in the Carling Cup on Tuesday when the team was booed off by sections of the home crowd. McLeish had made it clear that he had placed importance on the Carling Cup so the impotent performance was a worry.
Apparently the meeting did clear a few issues up as Villa return to League action to build on their unbeaten start to the season. However, they have only picked up 7 points as they have drawn 4 of their 5 Premier League games and the fans are getting impatient. Villa are 7th in the table, and have drawn both away games in the League, scoring 2 goals and conceding 2.
2 wins from 7 games in all competitions is not the best of starts, but the frustration from the stands came in their 0-2 loss to Bolton on Tuesday. Villa have only lost 1 of their last 6 Premier League games away from home and, while goals have been a problem at Villa Park, they have scored at least 2 goals in 4 of those games.
Carlos Cuellar is back in training but will not be taking part in this game, but Stephen Warnock should be available. Jermaine Jenas should be in the squad but both Stilyan Petrov and Darren Bent are fitness doubts with the latter having missed the Carling Cup game against Bolton.
Head to Head
QPR actually stunned Aston Villa 0-1 in the Carling Cup at Villa Park in the 2008/09 season, but the last League meeting was back in March 1996.
While irrelevant now, QPR did win their last 2 home League games with Aston Villa.
Prediction
This is another game in the Premier League that I think will produce a few goals over the weekend as both sides are probably better going forward than they are backwards.
QPR in particular in the last 2 games have looked very menacing going forward and should have scored goals in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle at home. I expect they will get at least a goal themselves after their thumping of Wolves last week that should have given the team confidence.
Aston Villa seem a little better scoring goals away from home as it allows them to play on the counter attack rather than forcing the pace as they have to at Villa Park.
They have been able to score goals away from home in recent Premier League games and I expect they will be on the scoreboard too.
I do think QPR are capable of winning this game, so I will play the 'Over 2.5 Goals' because I am not completely comfortable backing the home just yet.
Villa also proved they are capable of surprising teams even when not playing that well as they did at Everton recently so I will play the goals in this Sunday live game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
QPR 2-2 Aston Villa
