Aston Villa vs QPR: The games are coming thick and fast
No sooner had they come through one bruising week, then Villa’s attentions turned to another which could make-or-break their automatic promotion hopes.
Like every other club in the division, Steve Bruce’s men will play a quarter of their remaining 12 Championship fixtures over the next nine days and though the week is unlikely to prove decisive – at least in mathematical terms – it will still go a long way to setting up the post-Easter run-in.
For Villa, the derby meeting with rivals and long-time leaders Wolves on Saturday week is beginning to loom large.
Yet first they must take care of business against both QPR and bottom club Sunderland and in a hard-fought division such things cannot be taken for granted, even if a six-point haul is the minimum supporters might expect and demand.
“There are strange results in this division every week,” warned Bruce, in the aftermath of last Saturday’s 4-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday.
“You look at a team and think ‘they’re a stick on’ and then they go and get beat. In terms of consistency, we have done very well.
“To win eight and draw one out of 10 in this division is a fantastic return. Let’s hope we can do the same in the run-in.”
Last week was a difficult one for Villa, who were without influential duo Albert Adomah and Jack Grealish for games against Fulham, Preston and Wednesday.
A return of four points was ultimately a decent one, even if it has left them back down in third place and playing catch-up to Cardiff.
Villa trailed in all three games and though they were beaten at Fulham, they were able to salvage a point against Preston despite a below-par performance and then fought back to win in dramatic fashion at Hillsborough.
The nature of the comeback has restored a sense of momentum ahead of QPR’s visit and Villa will undoubtedly go into the match as favourites, against opponents who have struggled away from home.
Ian Holloway’s men have won only twice away from Loftus Road this season, both of them against teams currently sitting in the bottom three. They have taken only 12 points from their last 10 league games, home and away, to sit 16th in the table and were beaten 5-2 at home by Nottingham Forest last weekend.
On the flip side, the R’s can boast wins over both Cardiff and Wolves this term, while they caused the leaders a few nervous moments before eventually falling to a 2-1 defeat at Molineux last month.
Rangers are not expected to have any fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, but may look to make changes on the back of their hammering by Forest.
Villa’s cause would undoubtedly be helped by the return of Adomah and Grealish, both of whom have been targeted tomorrow’s fixture as a potential return date.
Bruce will definitely be without Alan Hutton after the veteran defender suffered a hamstring injury at Hillsborough, with Neil Taylor set for his first start since the 2-1 Boxing Day defeat at Brentford. Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe is also being assessed for a hamstring injury.
