Queens Park Rangers will welcome Bolton for their first Premier League game at Loftus Road in 15 years.
The West London club claimed the Championship title last season and will have survival as their ultimate target this year.
Neil Warnock has not been provided with lavish funds to reshape his squad ahead of an arduous and long campaign, despite the vast wealth of his multi-millionaire owners.
Jay Bothroyd, Danny Gabbidon, Kieron Dyer and goalkeeper Brian Murphy have all been signed on free transfers, while DJ Campbell was snapped up for £1.25million from Blackpool.
Debuts
All the outfield players will be handed their Premier League debuts on Saturday as Warnock looks to harness their top-flight experience.
Talisman Adel Taraabt will be a key figure for Warnock this campaign and if the Yorkshirman can find a way to cajole his Moroccan genius, he will be a problem for most teams in the division.
Owen Coyle has been busy this summer at the Reebok Stadium and has swelled his ranks with new signings.
Midfielders Darren Pratley and Nigel Reo-Coker arrived on free transfers from Swansea and Aston Villa, respectively.
Tyrone Mears and Chris Eagles arrived from Burnley for a combined fee of £3million, while Turkey international Tuncay comes in from Wolfsburg on a season long deal.
Tuncay is set to miss the game as he has yet to be granted a work permit, while Reo-Coker and Eagles are expected to make their Premier League bows for the Trotters.
Coyle, though, will definitely be without Mears and Lee Chung-yong, who both sustained broken legs during the pre-season.
Bolton endured a terrible end to the last campaign - losing five of their last six games - and they will want to begin this one by erasing that memory.
Probable starting XIs
QPR: Cerny, Orr, Gabbidon, Shittu, Hill, Dyer, Derry, Taraabt, Faurlin, Bothroyd, Campbell.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen; Steinsson, Knight, Cahill, Robinson, Eagles, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, Davies, Klasnic.
Betting Recommendation
QPR have retained the services of two main architects of its success in winning the Championship last season, experienced manager Warnock and mercurial captain Adel Taarabt. This partnership also appears to be its best hope to remain in the Premier League. In addition, Warnock has recruited strikers Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell from Cardiff and Blackpool respectively, as well as defender Danny Gabbidon and injury-plagued winger Kieron Dyer.
Bolton Wanderers last season have improved, not in the position in the standings, but rather in its style of play. They are playing with a mixture of free flowing attacking football, compared to a direct style used in the previous seasons. These improvements are mainly provided by Korean midfielder, Lee Chung-Yong and their Swedish striker, Johan Elmander. However, both players will be missing in the game against QPR for a very different reason. Elmander has left for Galatasaray while Lee Chung-Yong suffered a broken leg during its pre-season friendly game.
QPR will be looking forward for their first Premier League home game after being absent from the top flight for 15 years. However, I believe Bolton will have the resilient to hold QPR to a draw.
No comments:
Post a Comment