Just as happened in 2004/05, QPR will play Aston Villa away in the League Cup at the end of September.

This is a really tough tie for QPR against one of the Premiership sides likely to be taking this competition very seriously in the absence of any realistic chance of winning anything else.

Villa are probably the best of the rest outside the top four this season and spent £10m on Newcastle’s James Milner on Friday. They have been spared the League Cup so far due to European commitments but have started the season very well with just one defeat from six matches and 14 goals scored.

Rangers were at Villa Park in 2004 in the second round of this competition and despite a close range tap in by Kevin McLeod succumbed to a comfortable 3-1 defeat with goals from Vassell, Angel and the superb Nolberto Solano doing for Ian Holloway’s men. Villa have won the League Cup five times to QPR’s one, most recently in 1996.

The match will be played on Tuesday September 23 or Wednesday 24 which means QPR now face consecutive away trips to Norwich, Coventry and Villa inside seven weeks sandwiched between home games with Southampton and Derby. Certainly after this week’s international break the games are going to come thick and fast.

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