Olly Greenwood/Getty ImagesBerbatov could've, and maybe should've, been wearing the hoops of QPR

Dimitar Berbatov. There, I said it.

While QPR were out buying players who have hardly set the Premier League alight since their arrival, Fulham managed a mini-coup by bagging the Bulgarian.

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And the Rs ability to shackle his mercurial talents will be the key to whether that first win is before Christmas - or after hell freezes over.

Shaun Derry. You see I did it again... started a paragraph with a single name. Derry, to me, would be the perfect man manager in this situation. You see, the key to shackling Berbatov is keeping him disinterested - a feat Man Utd managed with some great aplomb.

What Fulham have done is give him the freedom of the park - he can enjoy picking the ball up deep, running from the gap between midfield and defence, popping up late. If we could charge Derry with micromanaging him throughout the game - then Samba Diakite and Stephane Mbia both have the physical presence, and Diakite the drive, to run the midfield and put Fulham on the back foot.

I wonder.

Meanwhile, perhaps the two biggest advantages QPR may have for this fixture are off the pitch. The first (obvious) is that Fulham, after bagging an early goal in the corresponding fixture last season, are yet to feel the full force of the Loftus Road crowd. And, judging by the lack of atmosphere at the Cottage and a penchant for being poor away from home, it will most definitely be a factor. Score first and they may buckle. Concede again and we may as well all go home.

Second, the loss of Mark Hughes is a gift that seems to keep on giving. A month ago, Fulham would have been keen to get some kind of revenge on a manager who snubbed them and then dissed them after his departure. Harry is a much better politician than that - and he has sought to take any fire out of Martin Jol and Fulham's belly.

So Berbatov. Derry. Diakite and Mbia. The crowd. No Mark Hughes. Win number one?

Follow Sean Smith on Twitter @seanshorn

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