After our unbeaten start to 2012 QPR will come up to the North East with a new manager at the helm in Mark Hughes. Hopefully there won’t be an impact that we know a new manager can have on a side. Just look up at our rivals! We will be hoping to be victorious in a game that will be aired on Sky Sports which is our 3rd successive league game on TV, so we must be doing well this year! We will be hoping for a win as QPR are near the relegation zone and if we are going to push the top 6, we need to win these type of matches.
Newcastle Team News
Newcastle are as we all know without our African duo Demba Ba and Cheick Tiote who are at the African Cup Of Nations. Better news for the Toon is that Danny Guthrie is back in training and could feature in the match. There are doubts over the fitness of both Danny Simpson who has hurt his back and Sammy Ameobi who limped out of the reserve game on Tuesday. Leon Best and Hatem Ben Arfa are expected to start up front with Ba missing. In midfield both Dan Gosling and Mehdi Abeid will be hoping to beat Guthrie to the spot with Haris Vuckic also a possibility. Davide Santon is also likely to start. Gabriel Obertan and Ryan Taylor will be competing for the right wing spot unless
QPR Team News
QPR will be without former Newcastle player Joey Barton who is suspended following his head butt on Norwich’s Bradley Johnson. Although the club appealed the dismissal, the FA chose to reject the appeal. Another player missing is Alejandro Faurlin who is out for the season and this could be key as he has been a revelation in the Premier League this year. Shaun Wright-Phillips is likely to start in new boss Hughes’ first game in charge. They also have Adel Taarabt and Armand Traore at the African Cup Of Nations.
Recent Encounters
In the previous match this year we drew at Loftus Road 0-0 and were quite lucky to get a point in that game, as we were dominated for long parts of the game. Last match at St James Park, we also drew the game 1-1 with Marlon Harewood scoring for us and Ben Watson netting for the Hoops. So neither team has had the best of the fixture lately, let’s hope it changes on Sunday with a home win!
Key Players
Hatem Ben Arfa- Well his goal against Blackburn showed the class he has got. If we are to win the game, we may need a little bit of magic and he could provide that. He hasn’t been starting in previous league games and didn’t even come off the bench against Manchester United. In the absence of Ba, we need goals and Ben Arfa can both score and provide goals which will be key for us to continue our form. He also links up well with Cabaye and Gutierrez. These 3 could be a force to be reckoned with in weeks to come.
Federico Macheda- He has superb potential but he needs to prove himself in the Premier League. He has the ability to be good in the league, but we are yet to see his talent. The glimpses we have seen show he could cause us damage we must hope that Coloccini and Williamson deal with him correctly. He has scored goals in this league and has played for Manchester United this year. He could be the new Giuseppe Rossi.
Form- Newcastle are on their way out of a sticky run with victories over Bolton, Manchester United and Blackburn in the FA Cup. We have also played good football recently and all our goals are remarkable! QPR have just sacked Neil Warnock, which should tell you all you need to know about their form. Also they drew to MK Dons in the FA Cup at the weekend.
Possible Line Ups
Newcastle, 4-4-1-1: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Obertan, Cabaye, Guthrie, Gutierrez, Ben Arfa, Best.
QPR, 4-4-2: Kenny, Hill, Hall, Gabbidon, Young, Derry, Buzsaky, Mackie, Wright-Phillips, Macheda, Campbell
