English FA CUP
2013-01-15 - West Bromwich Albion vs QPR
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Football : England : FA Cup
Tuesday, January 15th, 2013, 8:00PM GMT
PREVIEW
Of all the teams contesting an FA Cup replay tonight, QPR are the ones that want it least. The added game, away from home, is an added burden to an already tough fixture list for the West London side, who are rooted to the bottom of the table despite picking up 4 points against Chelsea and Tottenham. The priority is survival, and everything else is irrelevant. Expect that to show.
Harry Redknapp is set to be obsessed with keeping his new side in the Premier League, but he's got a seemingly impossible task on his hands. In order to keep up the form, it is imperative he keeps his team fresh for league matches, where they have won and drawn their last 2 matches, games they were expected to lose.
QPR managed a 1-1 draw at home against West Brom, in between those good results, but just before that they had been drilled 3-0 by Liverpool and beaten 2-1 by this very West Brom side, in London! That was on Boxing Day, just 3 weeks ago. West Brom could easily win this game, for they have home advantage, and they are able to give this competition some effort due to being safe in the league.
Indeed, West Brom have 3 wins and 2 draws in their last 5 meetings with QPR, dating back to late 2011. The last 2 meetings here have seen West Brom win 3-2 and 1-0. The h2h certainly favours West Brom, but there is a bit of concern about how their recent results will have affected them.
You see, on the weekend West Brom were 2-0 up at Reading and looking pretty, before Reading scored 3 goals in the last 8 minutes to leave the Baggies shellshocked. That game should have been their first win since beating QPR on Boxing Day, but instead they have now failed to win any of the 4 games since. They've lost 2-0 at Manchester United, and been beaten here 2-1 by Fulham.
You could argue they slip up, but I think we saw just how good West Brom can be against bottom half opposition, going 2-0 up with excellent play from Lukaku. I think they start excellently here, in a game they could well be winning at both HT and FT.
BETTING VERDICT
The odds on the win are generous enough, given the favourable situation and difference in motivation. I'll take the Baggies to comfortably beat QPR, who will be happy to see the back of this competition.
The Pick :
West Bromwich Albion 3-1 QPR
