Most teams looking to bounce back from a disappointing away defeat at the hands of Fulham will welcome a home tie against one of this season’s promoted sides. But as Liverpool prepare for their weekend game against QPR, they will be mindful of their disappointing results against the other two sides who have come up from the Championship and taken points away from Anfield. Kenny Dalglish’s side currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League – a surprise considering their good form against other top four rivals. But last week’s Carling Cup win in West London against Chelsea was not enough to inspire and see off a resilient Fulham. Despite losing Jay Spearing to a debatable red card, The Reds still looked to stream forward and were unlucky on a number of occasions.
Neil Warnock, on the other hand, has been talking up the prospect of playing one of the biggest sides in England. The QPRboss stated, “trips to Anfield are the reason we’re delighted to be in the Premier League”. QPR have already taken points off one of the big boys this season following their home win over London rivals Chelsea, and Liverpool will need to be cautious of a side who are determined to avoid the drop back into the Championship.
Liverpool have certainly benefited from not playing in Europe this season. Kenny Dalglish has, for the most part, taken advantage of mid-week breaks while other teams compiling the current top five have had to concentrate on European opposition. This stands his side in good stead going into the weekend’s game as there has been very little hangover from failings to pick up all three points this season.
The main concern, however, will be the two home draws against Norwich and Swansea. QPR might fancy their chances heading into the game and with plenty of experienced Premier League players in their line-up, they have enough quality to provide a sterner test than both Swansea and Norwich.
Over the course of the season it could be games like this that will prove to be Liverpool’s greatest obstacles. There seems to be little issue in rallying the side for games against Manchester United and Chelsa, and had it not been for the 4-0 hammering at the hands of Tottenham, there would be very little concern for Liverpool’s ability to compete against the top sides in the league. But failing to take maximum points off the ‘smaller’ sides, especially at home, is something that has been a problem for a number of title and top four hopefuls in recent seasons.
Five points away from the top four and in seventh place, Liverpool will need to show the same determination that has gained them valuable points in big games this season and see off a potentially tricky opponent in Neil Warnock’s QPR.
Written by Thomas Hallett for FootballFanCast.com
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