Next: Watford and Ref is: P Miller

[QPR Report]

And the ref is

Queens Park Rangers v Watford ( 8:00 )
P MILLER
J Farries and K G Yeo
Fourth Official I J Cooper

www.football-league.co.uk/page/Appointments/0,,10794~1965836,00.html

[QPR Report]

Head-to-Head Results: QPR vs Watford
www.soccerbase.com/head2.sd?team2id=2741&team1id=2093

A few weeks ago, we lost 3-1 at Watford

[sirpiechucker]

At the moment we don't look like scoring and we don't look like keeping a clean sheet. If you can't do one or the other we won't pick up points.

[QPR Report]

Vital QPR looks back at QPR vs Watford in 1984/85
www.qpr.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=188311

[QPR Report]

BBC

QPR v Watford
Coca Cola Championship
Venue: Loftus Road Date: Tuesday, 16 February 2010 Kick-off: 2000 GMT
Coverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC local radio



TEAM NEWS


QPR will be without Mikele Leigertwood and on-loan striker Marcus Bent.

Leigertwood is suspended and Bent is still sidelined with the hamstring injury which kept him out of Saturday's defeat at Coventry.

Watford cannot include Heidar Helguson against the R's under the terms of his loan move from Loftus Road.

On-loan Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley needs a late fitness test on the knee injury which has kept him out of the last two matches.


MATCH PREVIEW


Another loss for QPR would be their sixth in a row and make it the club's worst run since they suffered seven consecutive defeats in the 1995/96 season, when Rangers were relegated from the Premier League.

Hopes of a return to the top flight were raised after the Flavio Briatore-led takeover of 2007. But despite their big spending, the R's will be in League One next season unless something is done to arrest their incredible slump.

Fourth in October, Rangers are now hovering close to the relegation zone. They were wobbling before Jim Magilton lost his job in the wake of a 3-1 defeat when they last met Watford, and since then the wheels have well and truly come off.

Watford, who are 13th, have won two of their last three games and another victory would be an early birthday present for manager Malky Mackay, who turns 38 on Friday.


MATCH FACTS


Head-to-head

• QPR have won only one of their last seven league meetings with Watford, who are unbeaten on their last three visits to Loftus Road.

606: DEBATE
Have your say on this match


QPR

• Rangers are the only Championship side yet to win in 2010.

• They have scored only one goal in the last five matches and have not kept a clean sheet in 19 games.

• Defender Matt Connolly is set to make his 100th career appearance.

• Lee Cook and on-loan striker Tamas Priskin could both face their former club.

Watford

• Watford have lost their last four away games and are without a victory in nine league matches on the road.

• The Hornets have the best disciplinary record in the division, having picked up only 32 cards (one red, 31 yellow).


MOST RECENT MEETING



Watford 3-1 QPR (7 December 2009)


Watford scorers: Doyley 43, Cowie 56, Cleverley 90.

QPR scorer: Agyemang 33.

news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/football/eng_div_1/8510698.stm

[saphilip]

Despite their big spending??

Err .... BBC - you must have mistaken us for some other club.

Unless of course they are talking about excessive agents fees and all that compenastion that we have to fork over after sacking yet another coach.

[QPR Report]

Some are suggesting "Weather"...I'd love it to be postponed.

Meanwhile "MUST WIN" normally would put pressure on players.
But if you don't really give a sh*t, then probably no extra pressure felt

[haqpr1963]

Watford haven't won away since October.

QPR have only won once at home since October.

Have to say at the moment I would be delighted with a point. (Gawd, how desperate have we become???)

[QPR Report]

QPR Official Site Preview

MATCHDAY PREVIEW: HORNETS
Posted on: Tue 16 Feb 2010
Malky Mackay and his Watford side travel to Loftus Road this evening having enjoyed a rare weekend off in the Coca Cola Championship.

Their league clash at home to Crystal Palace was called off due to Neil Warnock and his team's fifth round FA Cup tie against Aston Villa, and Watford travel to West London refreshed ahead of what is sure to be a fiercely-contested local derby in W12.

Mackay has enjoyed relative success in his first season in management, and the Hornets - despite their financial situation - know that an excellent set of results could see them into the top six.

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The Golden Boys took all three points when they last met Rangers - who took the lead through Patrick Agyemang in December - with goals from Lloyd Doyley, Don Cowie and Tom Cleverley sealing a 3-1 victory at Vicarage Road.


Team News


The R's will be without the services of Marcus Bent (hamstring) and Hogan Ephraim (ankle) for this match, while Gavin Mahon and Martin Rowlands are also missing owing to long-term knee injuries. Mikele Leigertwood serves the final match of his three-game ban following his red card at Peterborough United.

Meanwhile, Heidar Helguson is ineligible to feature against the R's while on loan with the Hornets, which means Danny Graham could play as a lone frontman. Tom Cleverley, on loan from Manchester United, faces a late fitness test on a knee injury while Will Buckley could feature if he shakes off a thigh problem.

Star Man

Scott LOACH - Goalkeeper

The subject of an unsuccessful bid from Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the 2010 January transfer window, Scott Loach continues to impress following a string of fine performances in the Watford net this campaign.

The Nottingham-born stopper arrived at Vicarage Road after catching the eye of former boss Aidy Boothroyd while at Lincoln City.

Loach played the majority of his football for the Reserve side after he came to Vicarage Road and he played his part in a successful 2006/07 season for the second string.

His consistent performances earned him on a place on the bench for the First Team when Richard Lee deputised for England stopper Ben Foster. Loach went on trial with Leeds United ahead of the 2006/07 season, but returned as United were unable to sign players due to a League embargo.

Loach made his full debut for the Horns in the 1-0 Carling Cup win over Bristol Rovers in August 2008.

Since then, the budding stopper has shone and made 38 appearances for the Hornets in the 2008/09 season.

His efforts in goal caught the eye of Stuart Pearce and Loach has two international caps for the England Under-21 team under his belt.

Loach was Brendan Rodgers' number one choice between the sticks for the 2008/09 campaign, and signing a contract extension with Watford in April taking him up to 2012.



Previous Encounter

Watford 2, QPR 4

Coca Cola Championship - December 29th 2007

Rangers ran riot at Vicarage Road, as goals from Martin Rowlands (2), Damion Stewart and Akos Buzsaky clinched a stunning 4-2 victory against Championship front-runners Watford.

The R's stormed into a three goal lead at the break.

Rowlands opened the scoring from the spot, before he turned provider to set up Stewart who headed home to make it two.

The outstanding Rowlands capped a cameo individual display with a third from Angelo Balanta's threaded through ball, and although a Lee Camp own goal temporarily allowed the Hornets back into the tie early in the second period, substitute Akos Buzsaky guaranteed the win eight minutes from time.

Remarkably, there was still time for R's old-boy Danny Shittu to notch a late second for the Hornets, but it was Rangers' day - and how!



Match odds with Bet365

QPR win - 11/8

Draw - 23/10

Watford win - 19/10



Match Coverage

QPR Player will be providing live commentary of this fixture, as well as offering highlights later this week. Click here to join QPR Player.

www.qpr.co.uk/page/Preview/0,,10373~1964046,00.html

[QPR Report]

LFW's Clive Whittingham Watford Preview
www.clubfanzine.com/QPR/v2.showNews.php?id=27490

[Lonegunmen]

Feb 15, 2010 16:37:04 GMT saphilip said:

Despite their big spending??

Err .... BBC - you must have mistaken us for some other club.

Unless of course they are talking about excessive agents fees and all that compenastion that we have to fork over after sacking yet another coach.

Perhaps he was referring to the wage bill, not the transfer fees.

[QPR Report]

WAtford Official Site

I'M EXPECTING A REACTION"
Tue 16 Feb 2010
HORNETS boss Malky Mackay told www.watfordfc.com that he was expecting tonight's (Tuesday) encounter with Championship rivals QPR to be anything short of an easy task.

"I expect a reaction from Mick Halford's side after they lost 1-0 at Coventry last weekend.

"We've never had it easy at Loftus Road, so it will be a tough game and certainly the crowd can get behind their team there and make it a tough place to go.

"You can look at tonight's game in two ways - it could be a great time to go there but on the other hand you could say that they could draw up their drawbridge and defend their castle.

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"QPR is certainly a different type of club, there's not a lot of stability in terms of the time that managers are in the role, but Mick knows the place and knows football.

"Stability is something we are trying to get back at our own club now and I think we are gradually getting there.

"We need to make sure we go there and have the right attitude and the performance level that we showed against Barnsley but hope that things go your way at the same time."

Watford will come across a few familiar faces in west London later, most notably that of former 'Orns striker Tamas Priskin, who is currently on loan at the Hoops from Ipswich Town.

"He's got a love of football and has settled into English football very well, found his feet and adapted well to life over here.

"It took him time to believe that he was going to be a threat in this division but there is still a lot of development in him - we sold him because we had to and because his contract would have run out. But, we got a good deal with him and I was delighted with that.



"It was realistic at the time with the amount of goals he was scoring, goal-scoring centre forwards in this division are at a premium but since then unfortunately things haven't gone as well for him so he's moved on to QPR.

"It will be good to see him again and I'll give him a bit of nudge when I see him in the tunnel!"

Malky went on to reveal that despite recent disappointing results away from home, the players have not been disheartened.

"I think the players are like me in the fact they are realistic" said the manager.

"They know when they perform well and when they don't.

"At Barnsley, they put in a performance that probably merited something from the game, but on the other hand, they knew the standards they set at Blackpool weren't good enough.

"Come last week, they realised how close they were to getting a result at Oakwell and as I say, I'm looking for more of the same tonight.

"They took the Barnsley defeat in their stride and bounced back against a tough Bristol team with a great result.

"To be honest, I don't see anything fazing them; it's just a little rub of the green now and again, sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it goes against you and I think that's all we're missing away from home."
www.watfordfc.com/page/Preview/0,,10400~1967549,00.html