Midfield bypass a relief as QPR miss Faurlin
PA PhotosMark Hughes: A summer of changes
QPR v West Ham (Mon 1 Oct, 8pm)
Winless QPR will be looking to drag themselves off the bottom of the Premier League on Monday night in the London derby against West Ham.
Sounds rather desperate, doesn't it? But with just five games played so far, three against Champions League contenders, Swansea continues to be the only disappointment of the season.
Where performances have improved game on game, there is a small concern about how we were unpicked by Tottenham in such an obvious manner. In my preview I highlighted the main danger was to come from the wings, and we seemed ill-prepared for the all-out assault from the flanks in the second half once Andre Villas-Boas had got over his brain freeze and moved Gareth Bale from left back to left wing.
Against West Ham the threat will be no less direct, but perhaps much less pretty to watch as the Hammers have given up on football as an art and now play it as a science under Sam Allardyce.
The science of football says that the ball must spend as much time in your opponents' third if you are going to win games. Roughly translated that means quickly down the channels - bypassing the midfield if necessary - to the big lad up front who knocks it into space for a colleague to slam the ball home. Job done.
QPR, meanwhile, want to play through an uber-talented midfield, probing the final third before (and I'm assuming this because it hasn't happened that often) a telling ball through a static defence.
A clash of styles indeed.
The key to stopping West Ham will be two strong centre-halfs and cutting out the crosses from Ricardo Vaz Te and Matt Jarvis.
Ryan Nelsen should return to the back four, while Stephane Mbia will look to improve on a steady debut in midweek. Mbia showed that he is not afraid of the physical nature of the Premier League, so the likes of Carlton Cole, Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble should not worry the big Cameroonian.
His arrival could release Clint Hill to left back where he may have the wherewithal to keep Vaz Te at bay. Jarvis may prove a tougher ask, and Hughes is likely to start Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right side of midfield to support Nedum Onouha at right back.
The loss of Alejandro Faurlin to some robust tackling by Reading will be a blow against most sides in the Premier League, but may be a blessing against West Ham. It gives Hughes the option of playing Samba Diakite in the middle with Esteban Granero.
Ji-sung Park will start on the left side of midfield but may find that he is replaced later on if Adel Taarabt is fit.
Up front Hughes is more than likely to continue with two up front. Junior Hoilett did well against Reading and is likely to start with Bobby Zamora - our only goalscorer this season.
But don't back against Cisse getting involved. He looked back to his best against Reading and scored an absolute cracker that should have won the game.
Possible line-up (4-4-1-1): Cesar; Hill, Nelsen, Mbia, Onouha; Park, Granero, Diakite, Wright-Phillips; Hoilett, Zamora. Subs: Murphy, Dyer, Ehmer; Derry, Ephraim, Mackie; Cisse.
Follow Sean Smith on Twitter @seanshorn
To comment, you must be a registered user. Please Sign In or Register