As I had chronicled below, QPR is in quite a bit of a spot and Stoke does not seem to be doing much better. Both managers must be feeling the heat and a win in this game will do wonders for their teams' confidence.
Stoke has really been doing on a downward trend after staying undefeated for many matches before the Chelsea game. Having failed to score in 6 games other than in the 4-2 reverse against Manchester United, they have lost 4 out of those games. QPR with only 4 points is in no position to laugh at them though and will have to fight for their lives even at such an early stage of the season. Looking at the style of the teams, I believe that the match will be decided more based on individual battles instead of any particular team plays as Stoke is not exactly a passing silky team and QPR has yet to shown that the players trust each other enough. Therefore, for this match preview, I will look at some key battles on the pitch that might decide the game.
Crouch v Nelsen
It is always hard to deal with Crouch when he goes up to head the ball and Nelsen will find that out to great effect on Saturday. However, more often than not, Crouch looks to be the provider with his headers instead of directing it towards the goal as his headers are typically unable to garner much power. Nelsen, with his vast experience, should be able to position himself well enough to block or pick up the knockdowns that Crouch will inevitably get. The only danger is that Nelsen tends to lose focus in the midst of a match and Crouch might take advantage of those lapses in concentration.
Kightly v Bosingwa
Despite being a champion with Chelsea, Bosingwa has really seen his stock plummet and his performances have never reached the lofty heights he set a few years back. Nowadays, he tends to be a bit lazy in defending and shows more enthusiasm when he is on the offensive. His opponent, Kightly, is the exact opposite. Not exactly the most skillful player, he more than makes up for it with his hard running and he also has a bit of pace to burn. THe pity is that his final ball is always lacking and he can really tip the game in Stoke's favour if he manages to deliver a few perfect crosses into the box. Other than that, his 2 goals in 10 games for this goal shy Stoke side seems quite a good return and I fully expect him to run circles around Bosingwa throughout the match.
Whitehead v Granero
A combative midfielder that does not shy away from lunging in to get the ball and a passer more used to the more refined style of the Primera Liga. This should make for an interesting battle. Whitehead will be looking to contain Granero for the match and prevent him from making the key passes that will split Stoke's defence. For 50-50 balls, I'm sure Whitehead will get most of it but Granero's superior skill should set him in good stead to lightly step past Whitehead's overtly enthusiastic and sometimes brainless tackles.
Cameron v Taarabt
The unpredictable Taarabt has been reinstated into the first team by Hughes in a bid to improve QPR's attack and the move has paid dividends with him already scoring 2 goals. This will be a huge test for Cameron, who has impressed me in his first season in the Premier League. On his day, Taarabt is virtually unplayable and QPR will depend hugely on him. I expect his role to be of a negative one against Stoke though. With Stoke always looking to stifle opponents, the easily frustrated Taarabat might lose his temper and confidence after losing the ball a few times and I expect the solid Cameron to make him do just that.
Predictions:
Of course, with Stoke around, set pieces will always be an important factor as they seem to be both able to score and concede from that equally as much. In such an even match, that might just be the way to solve the game. A even more likely option that swings the game in either team's favour will be red cards, which seems very likely in this game with QPR's tendency to get cards. Few bets to be considered here: one, score draw. Seems likely that both teams will cancel each other out, though both should score. Second is that there will be over 3.5 cards in the match, with odds at 5/6 but seemingly quite a given. The last one will be for a card to be given before the 10th minute, which comes at good odds of 6/1.
No comments:
Post a Comment