- QPR have never lost at home to Villa in the PL (W3, D3)
- There’s never been a 0-0 in 42 league meetings
- Villa have suffered four-straight defeats without scoring
Both QPR and Aston Villa badly need a win on Monday night at Loftus Road (Watch live on NBCSN, 4 p.m. ET and online via Live Extra) as the duo are desperate for a win.
QPR put in a great display at home to Liverpool last week but were hit with two late counter-attacks which had Harry Redknapp seething. The West Londoners are without a win in five and pressure is starting to build at Loftus Road.
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The R’s boss is under-fire from plenty of people as his side sit bottom of the PL standings with six defeats from their opening eight matches. A win on Monday is crucial for the veteran manager, as his public criticism of midfielder Adel Taraabt got him in hot water with the clubs outspoken owner Tony Fernandes.
Scoring goals has been the big issue for Villa this season, as they’ve scored four times and had just 12 shots on target through their first eight games. With Christian Benteke making his first start since March last week against Everton, the big Belgian is Villa’s main hope of turning their alarming slump around after such a positive start to the season where they had three wins in four to open up. That fine starts seems like a distant memory.
What they’re saying
QPR’s Joey Barton: “I think the fans were galvanized by the way the team started against Liverpool. They got on board as well and were up for the fight. That fed into the players. That’s what we’ve got to do at Loftus Road, we’ve got to turn it into the kind of place where teams don’t like to come, where they don’t like it and it’s intimidating.”
Villa’s skipper Ron Vlaar: “We are more solid. We are stronger as a team. But we have to show that. We have to work really hard. I have all the confidence that we can do a lot better this season. It’s another massive game for us against QPR. They played a great game against Liverpool. They were so unlucky not to win the game. But we have to look to ourselves. It’s a game we want to win. And we go there to get three points. Obviously that’s what they want as well.”
Prediction
This will be a really tight game between two teams who are desperate for a win. Being at home QPR will have a a slight advantage and the way they played against Liverpool last weekend shows they’re improving. I fancy Redknapp’s men to nick this match 2-1.