GettyImagesMark Hughes endured a troubling start to the 2012-13 season

Another matchday, another winnable game. Which post mortem will it be this time: the 'we wuz unlucky' one, or the 'we wuz rubbish'?

In the run-up to this match the papers have started to pick up on the fact that the players are as good as strangers, something that Bobby Zamora mentioned in an interview a couple of weeks ago.

Monday night was a real case of stranger danger in the first half when West Ham - a team that knows the narrative their manager wants to produce - made QPR look exactly what they are at the moment: a bunch of talented individuals with no connection with each other.

It is little surprise that Mark Hughes's side only started creating a threat when Adel Taarabt - who is as comfortable at Loftus Road as he is in his own back garden - came on in the second half.

And that's the problem: when a group of individuals are put under pressure, no amount of drilling them during the week is going to help. The team needs to trust each other - and at the moment it most certainly does not.

That's not to say that all is lost. A half against Tottenham showed us all what they are capable of, and their performance to become the only team to take points off Chelsea hinted that the requisite grit and determination is not far from the surface.

But the worry is that the lack of a win will stretch patience too thin, and Hughes won't be able to repair the damage from what has been a very, very poor start to the season.

And so to the Midlands, where QPR have had some success since their return to the Premier League.

Last season, they won at Wolves (3-0) and Stoke (3-2), while getting a creditable draw at Aston Villa (2-2) and succumbing to a single wonder-strike at West Brom (1-0).

Another positive note is that the Baggies' strong start to the season seems to have stalled as they have won only once in four games (1-0 v Reading).

Monday night's substitutes, Samba Diakite and Adel Taarabt, have handed Hughes a selection headache for vastly differing reasons. Diakite would have been in the manager's thoughts for this game, but must now serve a one-match ban for his sending off. Meanwhile, Taarabt - who has been difficult to support away from home - is in line for a return to the starting line-up after an excellent half-hour against Wham.

Hughes' defensive injury crisis persists, but may have the back-handed advantage of forcing him to name the same back for consecutive games for only the second time this season. However, it is possible that Jose Bosingwa's hamstring may have recovered in time for this game.

Whoever starts in the back four will be under pressure from the return of Peter Odemwingie, who has just finished a three-match ban.

Hughes lost a lot of goodwill after what was a tactically brain freeze in playing four slight men in the middle against a physical W Ham side. We should expect similar against West Brom (albeit a little more talented) and a five-man midfield will be considered mandatory by most QPR fans.

Likely line-up (4-5-1): Cesar; Hill, Onouha, Nelsen, Mbia; Park, Granero, Faurlin, Taarabt, Wright-Phillips; Zamora

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