QPR vs Swansea Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2012-04-11 - QPR vs Swansea

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

QPR v Swansea
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 11 April 2012 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

QPR

Mark Hughes took a calculated risk on Sunday by giving a couple of his bigger players a rest at Old Trafford so that they would be fresh for this game which is considered more 'winnable' than against Manchester United. The ploy hasn't backfired as their rivals have not been picking up points meaning three points here for QPR would be a huge step to keeping them in the Premier League.

It looked like QPR were going to be in the relegation zone when this game was due to kick off as Blackburn Rovers were drawing 2-2 with Liverpool. However, an Andy Carroll goal has left Rovers in 18th, and QPR could move 3 points clear of the relegation places with a win here. They have a 4-5-7 home record this season, scoring 19 goals and conceding 25.

I will be the first to admit that I thought Rangers were in big trouble when they lost 2-1 at Bolton Wanderers last month, especially with the fixtures they had left on the slate, but they have shown some real heart recently. The team struggles away from home, but they have picked up 7 points from a possible 9 in games against Everton, Liverpool and Arsenal at Loftus Road, beating the latter two teams in their latest home games.

Bobby Zamora and Joey Barton are set to return to the starting line up for this game, although Shaun Derry is suspended after harshly being sent off at Old Trafford.

Swansea

Swansea do play some eye-pleasing football, but they are not getting the results recently that all their possession deserves. The season has already exceeded expectations from people outside of the club, but they will want to finish in the correct manner with 5 games left on the schedule.

Almost all of the Swans' supporters would have very happily taken this position at the start of the season where they are not nervously looking over their shoulders. The team are 14th in the Premier League table having gained 39 points so far this season and they bring in a 4-3-9 away record, scoring 16 goals and conceding 27 in those games.

They have lost their last 3 Premier League games in a row, conceding at least 2 goals in each of those games, after winning 3 in a row before that. Swansea have really begun to feel comfortable in the Premier League as shown by their away form where they have won 4 of their last 7 games, although losing the other 3. The team were beaten 3-1 at Tottenham Hotspur in their last away game, but the last time they visited West London, they won 0-3 at Fulham.

Danny Graham and Scott Sinclair were both left out in the 0-2 defeat to Newcastle United and both could be restored in this game.

Head to Head

Swansea and QPR drew 1-1 at the Liberty Stadium earlier this season.

They will be hoping for a better day at Loftus Road than they had last season when QPR ran out 4-0 winners here as both were promoted from the Championship.

QPR have never been beaten at home by Swansea and they have won 3 of their last 4 here against them.

Prediction

I have a feeling we could see a high scoring game between these teams, even if the statistics suggest that won't be the case, and my reasoning is that both teams are going to be looking for the three points and have plenty of possibilities of scoring goals against one another.

QPR have been playing very well at home in recent weeks and they should have plenty of confidence in their ability to pick up the win after doing so against Liverpool and Arsenal. With the likes of Zamora in the side, they should have goals against a Swansea team that has conceded at least 2 goals in each of their last 3 Premier League games.

On the other hand, Swansea have been playing much better away from home in the latter part of the season, and they can play with a little bit of freedom that comes with having 39 points in the bag with 6 games left to play. They will also feel they can get some joy on the counter attack as Rangers should be pushing forward for goals and Swansea have plenty of pace in their front line to cause issues.

It's just a gut feeling here that both teams are going to get at least one goal and then I can see a winner with both teams likely to be looking for the three points at that stage. The Overs is priced up at odds against and looks to be worth chancing.

The Statistics :

QPR LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-03-31	W	2-1	H v Arsenal
	2012-03-21	W	3-2	H v Liverpool
	2012-03-03	D	1-1	H v Everton
	2012-02-25	L	0-1	H v Fulham
	2012-02-04	L	1-2	H v Wolves
	2012-01-21	W	3-1	H v Wigan

SWANSEA LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-04-01	L	3-1	A v Tottenham
	2012-03-17	W	0-3	A v Fulham
	2012-03-03	W	0-2	A v Wigan
	2012-02-26	L	2-0	A v Stoke_City
	2012-02-04	W	1-2	A v WBA
	2012-01-21	L	2-0	A v Sunderland