QPR v West Brom Prediction 5th January 2013

QPR v West Brom Betting Preview
Will the FA Cup be able to bring a bit of cheer back to Loftus Road after a long gruelling season in the Premier League? Their remarkable away win at Chelsea in midweek will have done wonders for QPR’s confidence, but how much energy can they expend in a long FA Cup run? Temptation must be for Harry Redknapp to rest players, but with West Brom stumbling lately, there is a good chance of progression for Rangers if they approach it right.

QPR v West Brom Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365
QPR 8/5, West Brom 17/10, Draw 9/4

QPR v West Brom Recommended Bet:
Great looking match, simply from the point of interest about how Harry Redknapp will approach this game. He guided QPR to a massive three points at Stamford Bridge, but they were second best in the game easily, but that is the sort of fight they need to show. Redknapp has called his own players out this season for having a lack of fight, but what an injection of optimism that Stamford Bridge win will have brought. Now it back into action against the Baggies, having already met in the Premier League twice this season. QPR lost both Premier League fixtures against West Brom this season, both by a one goal margin. Their recent encounter was on Boxing Day in which QPR lost at 2-1 at Loftus Road. Rangers haven’t beaten West Brom at the last four attempt now, losing three of them. Their last meeting in the FA Cup (one of only two), back in the 1982/83 season and that was also won by West Brom (again by a one goal margin). Rangers are rock bottom of the Premier League still and the win against Chelsea snapped a three match losing streak. So there is still vast room for improvement and no reason to get carried away with the victory over Chelsea. Rangers have also only won one home match this season, losing five of the ten home games in the EPL. So nothing certain about them, certainly notwith an average of just 0.81 goals per game this season.

So West Brom do go as underdogs according to the Bookies in this one, but therefore could represent some pretty good value. They have won the last three in a row against QPR now and have only lost one of the last ten matches played against Rangers. So a good enough record to suggest that they could pull through this one, at least get a draw to get back to the Hawthorns. Steve Clarke’s men have lost their last two matches in the Premier League though, going down against Manchester United and then Fulham. So just a bit of inconsistency has crept into their game and they have lost three of their last four away matches (their only win coming at Loftus Road against QPR). They do arguably have the better compliment of forward players, but interestingly, they have conceded twice as many goals on the road as they have done at home this season, not having kept a clean sheet on their travels yet. The Baggies have lost just two of their last eleven away matches in the FA Cup so that’s not a bad record at all. You have to think that QPR will be more worried about getting out of the relegation zone in the Premier League than worrying about a cup run. Therefore it could be worth riding the trend of a West Brom One Goal winning margin for a price of 15/4 at online bookmaker Bet365.

Form
QPR DWLLLW, West Brom LDWWLL

Stat Attack
QPR have not won any of their last 13 FA Cup Third Round matches (excluding replays)
The two sides have met twice in the FA Cup, with one win apiece
QPR have been knocked out the last nine times they have met a team from the same division
West Brom have won six and lost two of their last eleven away matches in the FA Cup

Online bookmaker Promotion
West Brom may not be too disappointment about getting a draw out of this and going back to the Hawthorns. So therefore it could be worth taking some 0-0 Bore Draw coverage just in case. If the game does end 0-0 then online bookmaker Bet365 will refund all losing Correct Score, Scorecast and Half Time/Full Time bets placed on the game. The highly rated bookmaker offers up to a free £200 bet for new customers registering an account with them as a welcome bonus, matching the value of your initial despoti.