English Premier
2015-04-12 - Queens Park Rangers vs Chelsea
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 12 April 2015 Kick Off 1:30pm
This game is live on TV
Queens Park Rangers
Time was running out for Chris Ramsey and his Queens Park Rangers team in their bid to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. Ramsey has been saying for a few weeks that the side have played better than the results have indicated, but it was results that have been needed and picking up 4 points from a couple of away games this week is a real boost to their survival plans.
There is no doubt that Queens Park Rangers will have earned some real confidence from the points earned against West Brom and Aston Villa which has moved the team up to 18th in the Premier League table. That means they are only 2 points behind Hull City just outside of the bottom three, although that gap could have extended with this game taking place on Sunday for the television cameras. Rangers have a 5-4-7 record at Loftus Road this season, scoring 21 goals and conceding 22.
Queens Park Rangers had lost 5 in a row in the Premier League before the 1-4 win at West Brom last weekend and the 3-3 draw at Aston Villa during the week. They have failed to win any of their last 8 games at Loftus Road though and Queens Park Rangers have lost 6 in a row here in all competitions which includes their last 5 Premier League games in front of their own fans.
Richard Dunne, Leroy Fer and Eduardo Vargas are all out for the home side.
Chelsea
The West London derby gives Chelsea the chance to take another step towards winning their first Premier League title since 2010 as games begin to run out on their rivals to catch them. The Blues have begun to struggle a little towards the end of the season as their small squad has been stretched, but it would take a monumental collapse for them to blow the lead they have.
Results last weekend have made Arsenal the closest challengers to Chelsea, but there is a 7 point gap between these sides and Chelsea have an extra game in hand. The Blues also have the best away record in the Premier League where they have gone 9-4-2 this season, scoring 33 goals and conceding 19.
A 2-1 success over Stoke City last weekend means Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 12 games in all competitions and they have won back to back Premier League games heading into this one. They are unbeaten in 6 away games in all competitions, while Chelsea have won 4 in a row on their travels in the Premier League since losing at White Hart Lane on New Year's Day.
Cesc Fabregas should have recovered from the knock he picked up last weekend, but Diego Costa might miss the majority of the remainder of this season.
Head to Head
Chelsea beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a late Eden Hazard goal in November.
Queens Park Rangers have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 1 of their last 3 home games against Chelsea over the last four seasons.
Prediction
A late Christian Benteke goal pushed Queens Park Rangers back into the bottom three during the week, but there were plenty of positives to take out of that game following the win over West Brom last Saturday. The players have spoken of their desire to ride that momentum into this West London derby on Sunday and they clearly feel they can trouble Chelsea.
However, Chris Ramsey is going to have to find the right balance between attack and defence against the pace of the forward players that Chelsea will look to employ on the counter-attack. While Queens Park Rangers have begun to score goals and will feel they can threaten the Chelsea defence, they also have to be aware of former player Loic Remy who will be leading the line for the away side.
Queens Park Rangers will likely have a tough time escaping the bottom three if they can't improve a defence that has conceded plenty of goals, including at least two goals to the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Everton at Loftus Road over the last couple of months.
Chelsea will look to become the latest to do that as they have scored at least twice in 4 of their last 5 away games in the Premier League, but it is their own vulnerability at the back that Queens Park Rangers will look to expose. Hull City scored twice against Chelsea in a recent game at the KC Stadium and Charlie Austin and Bobby Zamora can both cause problems in this one.
Games between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road have been tight affairs in recent seasons, but this one looks like it could buck the trend. Last week Super Sunday was a let down for those who like seeing goals, but this game could provide at least three as both teams look to get forward to win the game.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Chelsea
