After dropping two points against Charlton on Friday QPR will be looking to continue their excellent home form as Watford visit Loftus Road for the final Christmas fixture. Watford have conceded more goals than any other team in the league.

Queens Park Rangers (9th) v Watford (19th)
Coca Cola Championship
Sunday December 28, Kick Off 3pm
Loftus Road, London
Paulo Sousa has already come a long way in a short space of time at Queens Park Rangers. Little over a month ago we travelled to Watford for the first meeting this season with Sousa just confirmed as manager. His predecessor Iain Dowie had found himself restricted by his bosses in the transfer market and then influenced in his team selection before he was sacked and three weeks with Gareth Ainsworth in caretaker charge brought stories in the press that Flavio Briatore had been seen leaning over the front of the director’s box during matches to have his say.

Sousa, a surprising appointment, was seen by many as a ‘yes’ man that would enable Briatore to continue having his say on the team and the performance in a 3-0 defeat at Vicarage Road did little to suggest that a glorious new era was about to dawn. Fast forward a month and Sousa has already won over the fans to such an extent that he was able to make six changes to a winning team at the weekend, decisions which ultimately cost us points in my opinion, with only the merest murmurings of discontent. In Sousa we trust it seems.

He has done that by making it obvious that he is his own man. The loaned players Briatore brought in during the summer and pressured Iain Dowie to play have not been in the team and in the case of Dasniel Parejo, absolutely terrible in the corresponding fixture with Watford but not alone in that, sent home. At Charlton Emmanuel Ledesma impressed, Samuel Di Carmine did not and he will do well to survive January with Sousa keen to mould a side his own way with no interference.

Results help of course and not including the Watford game, where Gareth Ainsworth seemed to be in charge anyway, Sousa has only tasted defeat once in seven games – QPR are unbeaten in three coming into this and have won their last three home games. The style and shape of the team has changed for the better as well and QPR are currently only being held back from a serious assault on the top six by poor away form and a lamentable attitude to holding onto a lead.

On Sunday Sousa can cement his early reputation among QPR fans by showing that the Vicarage Road massacre was a one off and beating the Hornets at the second time of asking.

Five minutes on Watford
That win against QPRE at Vicarage Road turned out to be the last match in charge for caretaker manager Malky Mackay and to be honest I think the Scot can count himself unfortunate not to have been given a prolonged chance in the Hornets’ hot seat.

Mackay is no stranger to being dumped despite doing a good job. After a career spent mainly at Celtic and Norwich the commanding centre half developed a knack for captaining teams to promotion from this division towards the end of his playing career. He went into the Premiership with Norwich, West Ham and Watford but on each occasion he was deemed surplus to requirements as soon as they got there and either dropped or moved on.

Watford went to the Preemiership with Mackay in the team under the guidance of Aidy Boothroyd. Few people had heard of him when he was plucked from the back room staff at Leeds to replace Ray Lewington at the end of 2004/05. Watford were still in some danger of relegation at that point and although Boothroyd picked up a couple of wins against Rotherham and Stoke to keep them in the division few at The Vic were overly enamoured with the appointment and many outsiders tipped them as relegation candidates in 2005/06.

However, with a shrewd eye for a bargain in the transfer market and a direct style of play that suited the players and level Boothroyd actually took Watford into the promised land in his first full season in charge. There were probably mixed feelings for the coach as he beat his former club Leeds in the Cardiff play off final after hammering Palace in the semis but for Watford fans, and the rest of the country, the 3-0 hammering of Kevin Blackwell’s men was absolutely hilarious.

Watford did not improve their squad much for the top flight, although they did add our own Danny Shittu to their line up, and lost Marlon King for the entire season with a knee injury very early on. In the end they were never likely to be good enough to stay up despite a trip to the FA Cup semi final. They finished bottom of the table and were effectively down a long time before the end of the season with just five wins to their name.

The lack of additions after promotion meant that Watford went into last season boasting a side that had succeeded in the Championship before and they set about the task of making an immediate return well at first with just one defeat in their first 12 games. However a home defeat by promotion rivals West Brom in November started a run of abysmal home form – no wins from nine league games, including a 4-2 defeat against Rangers. In the end they needed to rely on their early season form just to keep them in the play off spots through to the end of the season and having won none of their last five games it was no surprise to see an in form Hull City team that come on strong late in the season absolutely thrash them in the semi finals.

Watford chairman Graham Simpson strongly denied claims in the local press that the club was struggling for cash during the summer but a fire sale of players saw Darius Henderson, Danny Shittu, Steve Kabba, Nathan Ellington follow Marlon King and Hameur Bouazza out of the exit door. They looked a poor side on paper at the start of the season and sure enough a relegation scrap ensued almost from the first whistle. Plymouth, Reading, Cardiff, Wolves, Blackpool, Doncaster and Bristol City have all left Vicarage Road with points this season. Aidy Boothroyd, who had promised a departure from the long ball style of his previous seasons in charge before the campaign, left after a 4-3 home set back against Blackpool.

As well as the QPR win Mackay also picked up a notable victory at Swansea in the League Cup while in charge but with support behind the Scot growing the club pulled an appointment right out of left field. Brendan Rogers, like Boothroyd, was known by few fans when he got the Watford job after making waves as a youth and reserve coach at Reading and Chelsea.

Rogers is a young manager at 35 but he retired from professional football 15 years ago through injury and has had plenty of time to cut his coaching teeth. He started with two draws and wins against Coventry and Norwich but they have lost their last two games, and chairman Simpson has resigned, meaning that as a first appointment Rogers could barely have asked for a tougher assignment. Another transfer window approaches, and plenty of teams will be sniffing round Tommy Smith if he continues his current form, so Rogers will have to do as Boothryod did and call on all his contacts at Chelsea and elsewhere to try and find players good enough to keep Watford up but cheap enough to fit on their wage bill.

Make no mistake about it, a 4-2 home defeat by Bristol City on Boxing Day signals the end of the new manager honeymoon and Watford are still in trouble at the bottom of the table – that five point gap between them and Nottingham Forest can be closed alarmingly quickly if their form dips. Rogers’ first task is to address a defence that has leaked a division leading 44 goals already this season.

Men to watch
The stand out performer in the Watford team against QPR, and in general this season, is former Sunderland wide man Tommy Smith. He was always an impressive performer for the Hornets but with the rest of the talented players sold he has really stood out as the best of a fairly rotten bunch this season, topping the Watford scoring charts with 12, and should be pretty high on a few January wish lists when the transfer window opens. Equally at home wide in midfield or through the middle with a good eye for a pass and a goal – stop him and you have gone a long way towards stopping Watford.

Another player who always impresses me when we play Watford, but never seems to replicate the form consistently against the rest of the league, is Jobi McAnuff. He played with Patrick Agyemang and Mikele Leigewrtwood at Wimbledon and with Fitz Hall at Crystal Palace and is a pacy and tricky customer down the flank. He turned in his usual excellent performance against Rangers in November and I cannot decide whether he is a good but inconsistent player or just always stands out against us because we have poor full backs but whether it be for Watford, Cardiff or Palace he has always been one of the most eye catching opponents we face.

Smith and McAnuff are charged with feeding the Watford strikers and in the 4-2 defeat of Bristol City on Friday that was former Derby and Tottenham man Grzegorz Rasiak. He is on loan from Southampton this season but has only made ten appearances so far, scoring three times, with poor form and injury affecting his time at The Vic so far. Rasiak is always a striker I fear facing as he is a threat in the air and has a good record in this league, particularly with Derby, but to be honest he has never played well against QPR and has not enjoyed very much success with anybody since leaving Pride Park. You would think he will go on a spurt of form at some point, and he did score on Friday, but hopefully it won’t start tomorrow.

Will Hoskins, who burst onto the scene as a 17 year old in this division with Rotherham but has since struggled to make an impact with Watford and Nottingham Forest, and Tamas Priskin, who scored against Rangers for Preston last season, are the other striking options. They have ten goals between them so far this season.

Former Rotherham and Northampton man Lee Williamson was an impressive presence and goal scorer in the middle of the Watford midfield against QPR earelier in the season and while John O’Toole did not play against the R’s his energetic running from deep positions will pose a threat – QPR knew as much in the first game, writing it in their pre-match dossier which was apparently leaked to Watford. I say apparently because it was in the Standard s you might want to check the facts on that one!

Goal scoring is not a problem for the Hornets – they have twenty five at home which is more than anybody apart from the top two and eleven away which is more than twice our own total. However at the back they are struggling – only bottom of the table Charlton have shipped more than their 22 at home and they have matched that total away. That’s 44 conceded in total, compared to our 26.

The men in this leaky defence that shipped another four on Friday were Leigh Bromby, a big plodding centre half who has played for both Sheffield clubs and is one of those players you feel might only be in the team because he has a long throw. American Jay De Merit was superb for the Hornets in their promotion season but has not quite matched those levels since and young keeper Scott Loach was at fault for at least one of Bristol City’s goals on Boxing Day.

Previous Meetings
Rangers faced Watford at Vicarage Road at the end of November in what was technically Paulo Sousa’s first match as manager. In reality Gareth Ainsworth picked and directed the side while the new man watched on from the stands and with yet another change of manager afoot and the travelling QPR fans making known their feelings about both the performance and constantly being referred to as ‘a project’ this turned into a real day to forget. Watford were three up by half time with referee Mr Penn awarding a very harsh penalty against Mikele Leigertwood to allow Tommy Smith to score, a goal that was added to by Ward after a scramble and Williamson with the aid of a deflection. Watford did not add to their total in the second half but QPR were reduced to ten men when a lunge from Hall brought a straight red card from the match official.

Watford: Loach 7, Mariappa 6, Ward 7, DeMerit 7, Doyley 6, McAnuff 8 (Hoskins 78, -), Williamson 8 (O'Toole 82, -), Harley 7, Jenkins 6, Priskin 7, Smith 8
Subs Not Used: Lee, Bromby, Robinson
Booked: Harley (foul)
Goals: Smith 26 (penalty), Ward 34 (assisted Harley), Williamson 45 (assisted Smith)

QPR: Cerny 5, Delaney 1, Stewart 3, Hall 3, Ramage 2, Mahon 3 (Tommasi 46, 3), Leigertwood 3, Ledesma 3 (Parejo 53, 3), Ephraim 4, Blackstock 3 (Di Carmine 61, 4), Agyemang 5
Subs Not Used: Cole, Gorkss
Sent Off: Hall (81) (foul)
Booked: Mahon (foul), Ledesma (foul/play acting), Stewart (foul)

Match Report

The teams last met at Loftus Road in September 2007 when QPR were still searching for their first win of the season while Watford had made a storming start to the season and were top of the league. You would never have guessed that from the way the game panned out though – QPR actually looked like they wanted to make the effort and play and although they fell behind when a mistake from Chris Barker let Smith hook a ball back from the byline for Johnson to score a fine finish from the much maligned Stefan Moore won the R’s a deserved point despite Mikele Leigertwood’s late sending off.

QPR: Camp 8, Timoska 8, Stewart 7, Cullip 9, Barker 6, Ainsworth 7 (Moore 46, 8), Leigertwood 7, Bolder 7, Rowlands 7, Blackstock 6, Nardiello 6 (Ephraim 41, 7)
Subs Not Used: Cole, Bignot, Curtis
Sent Off: Leigertwood (81) (two bookings)
Booked: Bolder (foul), Leigertwood (foul), Cullip (foul)
Goals: Moore 59 (assisted Blackstock)

Watford: Poom 7, Doyley 7, Shittu 7, DeMerit 7 (Mariappa 46, 7), Stewart 7, Smith 8 (McAnuff 73, 7), Williamson 8, Mahon 7, Johnson 7, King 8, Darius Henderson 4 (Ellington 73, 7)
Subs Not Used: Lee, Priskin
Booked: Mahon (foul), McAnuff (foul)
Goals: Johnson 49 (assisted Smith)

Match Report

Head to Head
QPR wins - 46
Draws – 28
Watford wins 30

Past Watford v QPR scores and scorers:
2008/09 Watford 3 QPR 0
2007/08 Watford 2 QPR 4 (Rowlands 2, Stewart, Buzsaky)
2007/08 QPR 1 Watford 1 (Moore)
2005/06 QPR 1 Watford 2 (Nygaard)
2005/06 Watford 3 QPR 1 (Shittu)
2004/05 QPR 3 Watford 1 (Gallen 2, Furlong)
2004/05 Watford 3 QPR 0
2000/01 QPR 1 Watford 1 (Ngonge)
2000/01 Watford 3 QPR 1 (Connolly)
1998/99 QPR 1 Watford 2 (Peacock)
1998/99 Watford 2 QPR 1 (Slade)

Team News
Paulo Sousa caught everybody on the hop at Charlton with a team selection that came right out of left field and boasted six changes. Presumably most if not all of those changes were done with an eye on this game taking place two days later and if that is the case I would expect most of those players to be returned to the line up for this game. Certainly Helguson and Stewart must be pushing for recalls and Ephraim and Ledesma both played well off the bench at The Valley. Rowan Vine and Akos Buzsaky are the long term absentees and Lee Cook picked up a knock on Friday resulting in his early withdrawal so he may be a doubt.

Tamas Priskin is Watford’s main absentee, the striker has a back injury and that means Rasiak will get another start up front after his goal against Bristol City at the weekend. Lewis Young and Ross Jenkins are pushing for recall following the heavy defeat to Gary Johnson’s men.
Injury List

Referee
Clive Penton, who has an equal record of three wins, three draws and three defeats with QPR, is back at Loftus Road this weekend. The Sussex official was the man in the middle for Preston’s visit last season when Rangers scored twice in injury time to snatch an unlikely point. This is his second Watford game of the season, they lost 2-1 at home to Plymouth under his guidance a couple of months ago.
Details

Elsewhere
There is another full programme of festive football this Sunday, although Blackpool and Wolves have to wait for a Monday night Sky date for their fixture. Swansea City, on a club record run of seven consecutive draws, will present tricky home opponents for Birmingham, Reading go to Southampton who beat them at the Madejski earlier in the year. Down at the bottom managerless Nottingham Forest go to Norwich while Doncaster Rovers are at home to Burnley – northern stereotypes aplenty there.
Tony’s Championship Preview

Form
QPR’s home record of nine wins and a draw from 12 matches is better than every team currently occupying a play off place and despite an embarrassing goal total of just five scored away from home the Loftus Road tally of 20 is better than third placed Birmingham’s total at St Andrews. Rangers have won six of their last seven games on this ground, four before and three after a 2-1 set back against Burnley – some big names have fallen as well with Cardiff, Birmingham and Wolves all beaten without scoring a goal despite currently sitting above Rangers in the table. QPR are currently being held back from the play off places by their away form only – two goals at Charlton on Boxing Day took the total to a still meagre five scored and allowing the Addicks to equalise twice means it is still just one win from 20 away games stretching back into last season.

Watford are almost as bad away from home. They too have just one win on the road this season, 3-0 at Southampton in October, and have only picked up two draws from the other 11 fixtures at Palace and Bristol City. They did however win away in the League Cup at Swansea. They have not done too badly for goals scored, their total of 13 on the road is better than QPR, Swansea and Sheff Wed from the top half of the table, and they have conceded six less than Wednesday as well but it is certainly defence where the weakness lies – 44 against this season is the worst in the entire league.
Form Guide

Prediction
QPR’s home form has been spot on this season but we must not take that for granted. As soon as we get complacent at Loftus Road it will bite us on the arse. That should not be Watford (famous last words) who have a poor away record and concede goals for fun. Bizarre team selections not withstanding it would be a brave punter to back against Rangers at home at the moment, here’s hoping the run of form at home continues.
QPR 2 Watford 1

Photo: Action Images

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